Mental health nursing courses
Pre-registration courses
What is mental health nursing?
Mental health nursing is the speciality of nursing that cares for people of all ages who experience difficulty with their mental health.
It is one of the most complex and demanding areas of care and involves helping individuals and families to cope with and recover from the effects of poor mental health.
Mental health nursing is based upon a set of positive, optimistic and empowering attitudes and values.
Typical work activities
- Building trusting, supportive therapeutic relationships with individuals and families affected by poor mental health
- Assessing mental health and the impact a person's mental health has on their lifestyle
- Supporting people to make sense of, and manage their distressing experiences in ways that empower them
- Producing care plans and risk assessments
- Responding to distress in a non-threatening manner and attempting to understand the source of distress
- Administration of medication, including injections and monitoring the results of treatment
- Preparing and participating in group and/or one-to-one therapy sessions, both individually and with other mental health colleagues
- Working with families and carers, valuing their experience while supporting, informing and enabling them to contribute to the promotion of mental health and to prevent or reduce the risk of relapse