Psychiatric and mental health nursing - Philip J. Barker

'Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: the craft of caring' is one of the first comprehensive psychiatric and mental health nursing texts published in the UK.

The central feature of this groundbreaking textbook is its emphasis on a new concept of nursing practice - the craft of nursing: the idea that the care of people with psychiatric and mental health problems is neither science nor art, but a creative combination of both. This guides the reader to look beyond the medical diagnosis, emphasising the need for nurses to extend the treatment offered by other disciplines.

Divided into ten main sections, the book covers a wide range of psychiatric and mental health nursing settings, from acute, Psychiatric Intensive Care Units, and forensic settings where the primary focus is on reducing distress and preventing further deterioration; to community settings - where the focus turns to the developmental aspects of genuine 'mental health care'.

With a strong list of contributors from Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australasia and predominantly, the UK, the chapters integrate both theory and practice, helping the reader to appreciate the theoretical rationale for specific interventions by employing case examples from the 'care face.'