Mental health nurses require a diverse set of skills to aid service users and their carers on their journey to recovery. During their training, students need to acquire and demonstrate skills to show that the care they provide is evidence-based and effective. Skills as diverse as assessment, forming therapeutic interactions, caring for physical and mental health needs, as well as leadership and management, can be difficult to learn and master - until now!

Mental Health Nursing Skills provides students with a highly evidence-based and practical account of the skills required for nursing practice. The original text was developed in response to the Chief Nursing Officer's review of Mental Health Nursing in England and that of the Scottish Executive. The authors have updated the content to include reference to the “Playing Our Part” Review of Mental Health Nursing and the latest NMC pre-registration standards. The authors translate theory into clearly applied skills supported by practice examples, tips from service users, and accompanying online activities. With contributions from nursing academics, researchers, practitioners, and service users, this text reflects the best of theory and practice.

Clearly mapped against all the benchmarks expected by professional nursing bodies and suitable for all settings, Mental Health Nursing Skills provides a high quality and student friendly account of the skills required for successful nursing practice.

Patrick Callaghan, Professor of Mental Health Science and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, South Bank University, London, UK,Tommy Dickinson, Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King's College London, London, UK,Anne Felton, Head of the Institute of Health and Allied Professions, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Patrick Callaghan is the Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and Professor of Mental Health Science at London South Bank University, UK. A Mental Health Nurse, Chartered Health Psychologist, Chartered Health Scientist, and Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Professor Callaghan has worked in mental health for 30 years. He was the first elected Chair of Mental Health Nurse Academics UK, led the education group of the Chief Nursing Officer's Review of Mental Health Nursing in England in 2005, and is a former non-executive director of the Mental Health Act Commission in England. In 2010 he received the Eileen Skellern Memorial Lecture for his contribution to Mental Health Nursing, and in 2016 the Winifred Raphael Memorial Lecture by the Royal College of Nursing. In 2018 he was appointed a National Teaching Fellow, and in 2019 received the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing's Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to mental health nursing.

Tommy Dickinson is Professor of Nursing Education and Head of the Department of Mental Health Nursing at King's College London, UK. He is a dual-qualified (adult & mental health) registered nurse. Following a clinical career in social care nursing he moved to an academic role in 2007. In 2018 he received the prestigious endowed Talbott Visiting Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia. While in the US he gained clinical experience in the Ryan White HIV Clinic and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences' inpatient ward. In 2021 Professor Dickinson became the first and only UK-based nurse to be selected for a Fellowship in the USA's National League for Nursing's Academy of Nursing Education. He is Honorary Professor of Nursing at Queen's University Belfast, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the European Academy of Nursing Science, and an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Nursing Education and the Journal of American Nurses Association- New York.

Anne Felton is the Head of the Institute of Health and Allied Professions at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Over three years, she has led the introduction of 15 new programmes in nursing, paramedicine, and continuing professional development. Dr Felton began her mental health nursing career promoting recovery approaches in the community before moving to an academic role. She has led several projects related to the participation of people with health conditions in professional education, simulation, and student mental health. She is committed to enhancing the care experiences of people using health services, through her own teaching practice and more recently through developing high performing teams delivering excellent education and research in the healthcare field. Dr Felton undertakes qualitative research with expertise in shared decision making, co-production, and critical perspectives of risk, which has been widely disseminated.

1. Service users' views and expectations of mental health nurses, Debbie Butler and Andrew C. Grundy2. Values-based mental health nursing, Isaac Tuffour3. Evidence-based mental health nursing practice, Patrick Callaghan and Paul Crawford4. Caring: The essence of mental health nursing, Carmel Bond, Theo Stickley, and Gemma Stacey5. Interpersonal communication: Heron's six category intervention analysis, Jean Morrissey6. Understanding therapeutic relationships in mental health nursing, Michael Coffey, Greg Rooney, and Stephen McKenna Lawson7. Assessment in mental health nursing, Helen Rees, Adam Chillman, and Zaynab Yasin Sohawon8. Working in partnership, Alan Simpson and Geoff Brennan9. Dementia: A person-centred perspective, Helen Pusey, Simon Burrow, and John Keady10. Recovery-focused care and safety planning assessment and management, Alan Simpson and Jessica Sears11. Key skills in telemental health, Mary Munro-Hargreaves and Billy Ridler12. The essence of physical health care, Michael Nash, Christine Kakai, and Roupmatee Joggyah13. Low intensity CBT interventions (guided self-help), Marie Chellingsworth14. Introductory skills for conducting psychosocial interventions in dementia care, Juanita Hoe and Rachel Thompson15. Behavioural activation, Maria Filip and Tim Carter16. Behavioural family interventions for the self-harming and suicidal adolescent, Anita Henderson and Roy Litvin17. Key skills in working with children and young people, Annmarie Grealish and Gemma Trainor18. Key skills in working with people living with neurodevelopmental disorders, Jane Sedgwick-Müller19. Medication management, Alan Pringle and Mark Pearson20. Law and practice, Richard Griffith21. Considering and responding to risk when working with people living with mental health problems, Dan Warrender and Chris Young22. Practising safe and effective observation, Mark Baker, Haseem Usman, and Susan Sookoo23. The recognition and therapeutic management of self harm and suicide prevention, Rachel Lees, Keith Waters, and Andy Willis24. Supporting people through periods of distress that may result in harm to themselves or others, Dave Riley, Tommy Dickinson, Jeanette Murray, and Wayne Ennis25. Working with people with substance misuse problems, Patrick Callaghan and Adam Sutcliffe26. Skills to improve care continuity: Working in interagency and interprofessional teams, Ben Hannigan and Nick Weaver27. Leadership and management in mental health nursing, Emma Wadey28. Health behaviour change theories, Opeyemi Atanda, Patrick Callaghan, Eleni Vangeli, and Paula Reavey