This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. This book will help to identify the skills and resources that students already have and show how these can be developed into the essential skills needed for nursing in the mental health practice environment. Essential Mental Health Nursing Skills draws on the policy and theory underpinning mental health nursing but focusses on the practical aspects, providing an easily understandable guide to what to do and how to do it. It also provides a practical framework that can be applied in any setting. Examples are given to show how skills can be applied across the diversity of modern mental health nursing. Essential Mental Health Nursing Skills is also designed to be taken into the practice environment so that it can easily be referred to it when learning a skill. SECTION 1 ESSENTIAL SKILLS 2 Therapeutic relationships 3 Observation 4 Taking on different roles 5 Reflection SECTION 2 THE PROCESS OF CARE 6 Communication 7 Assessment 8 Care delivery and interventions 9 Improving physical wellbeing 10 Managing care APPENDIX: CLINICAL OBSERVATION SKILLS