This study is concerned with the exploration and description of the meaning for health professional carers of being in long-term therapeutic contact with patients/clients in the community setting. Underlying philosophical assumptions centre on the ontological issue of the nature of reality for the qualitative researcher - the belief that reality is subjective and multiple and is constructed by the individuals involved in the study. Underlying axiological and rhetorical assumptions provide for the presentation of the researcher's own interpretation of the narrative in conjunction with the descriptions and interpretations of participants, and the use of a literary, informal and personal style of writing aimed at making explicit the meaning of the phenomenon under study by following a principle of verisimilitude. A purposive and criterion-based sampling strategy enabled access to community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, community learning disability nurses, and general medical practitioners. Analysis and interpretation revealed the existence of five, shared, central underlying meanings of being in long-term therapeutic contact: the role and responsibilities of the professional carer; the building, maintenance and conclusion of long-term therapeutic contact; the search for confirmation and validation, support and feedback; external influences on practice and being human. Findings are discussed in the context of related literature. Recommendations focus on the means of enabling this workforce to achieve their professional and personal aims in pursuit of providing high quality, clinically effective care and the best outcomes for patients/clients. Recommendations also have application for pre- and post-basic education, recruitment and retention, and practice and policy development. This is possible through a better understanding, and increased sensitivity by education providers and management, of what it means for professional carers to be in long-term therapeutic contact; importantly, the significance of the influence of the human being that is the professional person upon the developing therapeutic relationship between the two.