Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing

Evidence-based introduction to the role of the mental health nurse, covering social, political, psychological, and biological aspects of mental health

Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing is an accessible, evidence-based introduction to the role of the mental health nurse, exploring the concepts of mental health and distress, ethics and accountability, key nursing models to be aware of, and the prevalence, predisposing factors, and features of the most commonly occurring mental health problems. This book places mental health conditions and interventions within a wider holistic context, situates recovery at the centre of mental health nursing practice, and links key concepts to mental health across the lifespan.

This second edition contains revised content throughout as well as five new chapters on race, ethnicity, and diversity; sexuality, gender, and identity; global challenges for mental health; care planning in mental health; and transition to registration in leadership and resilience. Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing includes:

• Different ways of defining mental health, and how different definitions can potentially ignore social factors that may influence health, such as poverty
• Social, political, and psychological factors that impact mental wellbeing and recovery, from cultural inequalities to poor housing, to trauma and cognitive behavior
• Biological theory related to mental health, covering brain structure, neurochemistry, medication, and more
• Today’s most common mental health problems including anxiety, mood disorders, psychosis, substance misuse, eating disorders, and organic disorders

Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing is a comprehensive and easy-to-understand reference on the subject for student nurses enrolled in pre-registration graduate nursing programmes, as well as early career nurses, nurses returning to practice, and healthcare assistants and assistant practitioners.