Introducing Mental Health Nursing : A Service User-oriented Approach

Introducing Mental Health Nursing offers a systematic overview of both the science and the art of caring for people experiencing mental health problems. It addresses the attitudes, knowledge and skills required to provide care for service users across all health-care settings, from specialist mental health services to general hospitals and community care.

The authors place the service user at the centre of all aspects of mental health care and emphasise the importance of the therapeutic relationship as the cornerstone of good mental health nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on the role of the nurse as an intrinsic member of the mental health team, and nurses are encouraged to think critically about the perspectives that they bring to their practice.

The second edition has been fully revised and updated, with increased focus on Indigenous social and emotional well-being, as well as two new chapters on Recovery and Cultural Safety. A must-have book for undergraduate nursing students, new graduates and professionals changing specialties or simply wishing to refresh their mental health nursing knowledge.

'This is a brave and dignified text - beautifully written and conceived and given the current texts available - a must for any serious undergraduate nursing program in an Australian university.' - David Buchanan, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom

'I recommend this text to all students of nursing, whether you intend to pursue a career in this speciality or if you simply desire to provide the best care possible in any field of practice.' - Associate Professor Stephen Elsom RN PhD, Director, Centre for Psychiatric Nursing, The University of Melbourne

Dr Brenda Happell is Professor (Engaged Research Chair) of Mental Health Nursing, Director of the Institute for Health & Social Science Research, and Director of the Centre for Mental Health Nursing Innovation at Central Queensland University. She is the Editor of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing and Associate Editor of Issues in Mental Health Nursing.

Dr Leanne Cowin is Head of Program for the Master of Nursing course in the School of Nursing & Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney.

Cath Roper is a Consumer Academic at the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Richard Lakeman is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health & Human Sciences at Southern Cross University.

Dr Leonie Cox is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology.