Commentaries and reflections on mental health nursing in the UK at the dawn of the new millennium: Commentary 1

In this chapter we return to the story of Anthony and his brother David, who we originally met in Chapter 4, and Joyce, who first appears in Chapter 5. Previously we considered the role of the mental health nurse in working with people experiencing acute mental health crisis. This chapter seeks to consider how as mental health nurses we might go on to work with these people to support their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. The chapter opens by outlining some key principles of recovery and proceeds to demonstrate how these ideas might be implemented in working with both Anthony and Joyce. “The way I was feeling my sadness was mine. When I was in hospital staff rarely took time to find out what this was like for me. Not taking the time often fuelled what I was thinking: ‘I’m not worth finding out about.’ Nigel Short (2007: 23)” This service user describes how it feels to live with mental illness continuously throughout their lives, not just while they are in hospital. Professional staff may contribute to this feeling if care planning becomes too focused upon symptoms and treatment rather than person-centred care and recovery. In this context, recovery should not be seen as a new concept; rather it can be traced back at least 200 years to one of the earliest asylums, the Tuke Retreat in Yorkshire. “For it was a critical appraisal of psychiatric practice that inspired the Tuke at York to establish a clinical philosophy and therapeutic practice based on kindness, compassion, respect and hope of recovery. Roberts and Wolfson (2004: 37).” Later, during the 1960s, The Vermont Project (an American psychiatric facility) also published research on successful rehabilitative practice that was based upon ‘faith, hope and love’ (Eldred et al. 1962: 45). However, much of the current focus upon recovery practices is based on longitudinal studies in America, services in Ohio, service users were asked to identify what was important to them. This resulted in the Emerging Best Practices document that is recommended guidance in the UK today (NIMHE 2004).

Download Full-text

Assessing the evidence of mental health promotion criteria in a pre-registration mental health nursing programme

The Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice ◽

10.1108/jmhtep-09-2012-0032 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 145-154

Author(s):

A.B. Odro ◽

L.K. Dadzie ◽

P. Ryan ◽

D. Collins ◽

R. Lodoiska

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Quality Criteria ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Mental Health Nursing ◽

Content Type ◽

Health Nursing ◽

The Uk

Purpose – This paper is about a single case study of a three-year BSc Mental Health Nursing degree programme based at a London University. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the extent to which the programme sufficiently addresses the ten quality criteria developed by the “PROMISE” (2009) Mental Health Promotion Project. PROMISE (2009) is a European public health project funded by the European Commission and was conducted from 2009 to 2012. Its aim was the European-wide development of criteria and training guidelines in mental health promotion and recommended these should be integrated into the professional training curricula of nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis method (Bryman, 2012) was used for this case study. This method allowed for a line-by-line scrutiny of the contents of the curriculum for evidence of the ten PROMISE quality criteria for mental health promotion (PROMISE project; http://promise-mental-health.com/training-guidelines.html). Findings – The findings revealed that the PROMISE (2009) project was not one of the four key documents stated as forming the basis for the design of the curriculum content. However, the study found evidence of the curriculum addressing the first PROMISE criterion of embracing the principles of mental health promotion in seven of the 14 modules (50 per cent) in the programme. In the first year of the programme five of the ten PROMISE quality criteria were embedded in two of the four modules. In year 2, quality criteria 1, 4 and 7 were addressed in the course content of four of the five modules (see Table I). In the final year of the programme PROMISE quality criteria 1, 2, 4 and 8 were embedded in the syllabus and assessment strategy in two out of the five final year modules. It was also found that quality criteria 2 and 9 were not included in any of the modules in the programme. Research limitations/implications – This is a case study based on the content analysis of a single curriculum document in a London University. It is therefore not possible to make wide generalisation of its findings across the countries involved in the EU Promise project. However, it could be argued that it is possible to find a number of the key findings present in other UK University programmes that may be similar in structure to that selected for this study. The other limitation to this content analysis is that the evaluation process did not include accounts of the students’ experience on the programme. This could have contributed significantly to the outcome of the evaluation exercise. Although the methodology used is simple, practical and relatively sound, it is not necessarily rigorous in terms of quantitative research methodology but arguably an acceptable contribution to the spectrum within qualitative research paradigm. Practical implications – The emergence of the “PROMISE” criteria especially on a European-wide basis puts emphasis on the importance of mental health promotion in the training of health care professionals. This is expected to be achieved by the training institutions in the European Union. In the UK, this notion is well embraced in various health policy documents (e.g. “No Health Without Mental Health” DH 2011). In the case of the programme examined at one London University, work is required to ensure that a pervasive incorporation of mental health promotion strategies in the curriculum in order to help the students to become better equipped to understand and effectively apply the mental health promotion criteria in their work upon qualification. Originality/value – This is one of the first papers to address the “PROMISE” project and the issue of incorporating mental health promotion criteria in a pre-registration mental health pathway training programme in a university in the UK.

Download Full-text

How has Covid‐19 affected mental health nurses and the delivery of mental health nursing care in the UK? Results of a mixed methods study

Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing ◽

10.1111/jpm.12745 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Una Foye ◽

Christian Dalton‐Locke ◽

Jasmine Harju‐Seppänen ◽

Rebecca Lane ◽

Lewys Beames ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Nursing Care ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Mental Health Nursing ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

Health Nursing ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Compassion fatigue and mental health nursing: the final taboo?

British Journal of Mental Health Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjmh.2021.0027 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Matshidiso L Camenzuli-Chetcuti ◽

Michael B Haslam

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Compassion Fatigue ◽

Nurse Leaders ◽

Mental Health Nursing ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

Prolonged Contact ◽

Inpatient Settings ◽

Health Nursing ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

For mental health nurses, a core component of the nurse–patient relationship is compassion. Bearing witness to patients' distress may lead to the manifestation of compassion fatigue; a decrease in compassionate and empathic responses because of prolonged contact with patients with mental ill health issues. Mental health nurses, particularly those who work in areas where they are exposed to frequent crisis presentations, such as inpatient settings and crisis teams, are at risk of developing compassion fatigue, yet there remains a paucity of research into the impact on those delivering mental health care in the UK. This article highlights the importance of identifying compassion fatigue, advocates for open honest and supportive discussions without fear of reprimand, and argues that possible workplace causes should be effectively addressed by nurse leaders and organisations, not just for sake of the mental health nurse and their employers, but also to ensure positive patient outcomes.

Download Full-text

Mindfulness, Compassion, and Self-Compassion as Moderator of Environmental Support on Competency in Mental Health Nursing

SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine ◽

10.1007/s42399-021-00904-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fajar Rizal ◽

Helen Egan ◽

Michael Mantzios

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Online Forums ◽

Mental Health Nursing ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

Environmental Support ◽

Self Compassion ◽

Health Nursing ◽

The Uk ◽

Relationship Of

AbstractThis research explored the established relationship between environmental support and competency for Mental Health Nurses, intending to investigate whether the tendency to display higher levels of mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion might buffer the effect of a poor environment on competency. One questionnaire was comprised of five pre-developed questionnaires, which included all items examining environmental support, competency, mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion. Mental Health Nurses (n = 103) were recruited from online forums and social media group pages in the UK. The result showed environmental support related positively to competency. Furthermore, the positive relationship of competency with environmental support was moderated when controlling for compassion but did not with mindfulness and self-compassion, although subscales showed some further interactions. When poor environmental support influences the competency of mental health professionals, compassion and mindfulness-based interactions may have the potential to uphold competency.

Download Full-text