Now in its 7th edition, this well-established title has been updated and revised to reflect the latest research in the field of mental health nursing. A team of authors from a range of higher education institutions has revised the text to ensure the book remains relevant to the current realities of nursing mental health care users in South Africa. The text takes the curricula of mental health nursing into account to ensure it is suitable for the new nursing programme. Rich in evidence-based practice and case studies, the book incorporates the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-5 ™ with accompanying explanatory text.

New to the 7th edition

• DSM-5 ™ diagnostic criteria retained with updated accompanying text
• Updated research added throughout
• Completely new chapter 6, ‘Legal structures in mental health care nursing’, that outlines the broader legal context within which mental health nurses practise and discusses the rights a mental health care user is entitled to in terms of the Mental Health Care Act
• Rewritten chapter 8, ‘Working with cultural diversity in mental health care’, that focuses on diversity, culture and cultural competence
• Rewritten chapter on personality disorder (chapter 18) that helps the reader acquire an understanding of the common characteristics and difficulties that people diagnosed with a personality disorder experience and uses a psychodynamic and transactional analysis model to understand these characteristics and difficulties and to help direct treatment.
• An extensive list of web resources at the end of each chapter is retained and updated

Chapter 1: The history of mental health nursing

Chapter 2: A conceptual framework for MHN

Chapter 3: Comprehensive mental health care

Chapter 4: Mental health care in the health care system

Chapter 5: The consumers in mental health care

Chapter 6: Legal structure

Chapter 7: Ethical dilemmas in mental health nursing

Chapter 8: Working with cultural diversity in mental health care

Chapter 9: The mental health nursing process

Chapter 10: Assessment of the psychiatric patient

Chapter 11: Nursing interventions

Chapter 12: Nursing the patient with an anxiety disorder

Chapter 13: Nursing the patient with a mood disorder

Chapter 14: Nursing the patient with schizophrenia

Chapter 15: Nursing the patient with a substance-related disorder

Chapter 16: Nursing the patient with a cognitive disorder

Chapter 17: Nursing care of persons with intellectual disabilities

Chapter 18: Nursing the patient with a personality disorder

Chapter 19: People who have experienced trauma

Chapter 20: People with mental illness who have comorbid general medical conditions

Chapter 21: Mental health of people living with HIV or Aids

Chapter 22: Mental health nursing of children and adolescents

Chapter 23: Nursing forensic psychiatric patients

Appendix 1: Inpatient evaluation scale

Appendix 2: University of Natal Functional Assessment Scale

Appendix 3: examples of questions used in a psychiatric history

Appendix 4: Evaluation of group work

Appendix 5: Evaluation of mental health education

Appendix 6: Time-event chart for a patient with anxiety symptoms

Appendix 7: Hamilton anxiety rating scale

Appendix 8: Beck depression inventory

Appendix 9: Classification of psychiatric disorders of infancy, childhood & adolescence

Appendix 10: Glossary of psychiatric terms

Undergraduate nursing students completing the degree or diploma course; medical students in the fields of psychiatry; post-basic/honours students; practitioners of patient advocacy; practising nurses.