4 Year Nursing Degree Programme (BSc Cur) Mental Health Nursing
NU1P05 -Understanding Mental Health and Meath Heath Nursing (10 ECTS)
Learning Outcomes
Following completion of this module the student should be able to:
- Describe the historical and contemporary explanations of mental health and illness; the history of psychiatric nursing and the factors that have influenced its professional development and function in hospital and community clinical settings.
- Identify the factors that impact on a person’s mental health and examine bio/medical, psychosocial, cultural, spiritual and legal explanations of mental illness and distress, Outline the principles underpinning a recovery approach to mental health service provision and describe how a recovery approach would view the role of the person in their own care.
- Describe the role and contribution of non-statutory organisations and peer support in mental health service provision and the care of people who are experiencing mental distress.
- Examine the concept of stigma and the implications of labelling a person as mentally ill, in terms of citizenship personhood and social inclusion.
- Describe the nursing skills needed in developing therapeutic relationships with people experiencing mental health problems and the application Peplau’s theory and the Tidal Model as ways of conceptualizing the role of the psychiatric/ mental health nurse
Module Learning Aims
This module introduces students to a number of theoretical approaches, which offer ways of
understanding the nature of mental health and mental illness, and to the art, science and craft of
psychiatric and mental health nursing. The module explores both the historical development of
psychiatric / mental health nursing in Ireland as well as contemporary discourses, with reference to the
bio/medical, psycho- social, cultural, spiritual and legal explanations of mental illness and distress. The
module also explores the literature on recovery, multidisciplinary team working, working with
families/carers, service user expertise, and the role of non-statutory organisations. Emphasis is placed on
exploring how each lens of understanding impacts on service users and families, with specific emphasis
on: citizenship and social exclusion, service provision, professional roles, therapeutic approaches to care
and treatment, the use of self as a therapeutic agent as a mental health nurse and power relationships.
Recommended Reading List
- Buchanan-Barker P. & Barker P. (2008) The Tidal Model: extending the value base of mental Health recovery. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 15, 93-100.
- Barker P. (2003) The Tidal Model: Psychiatric colonization, recovery and the paradigm shift in mental health care. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 12, 96-102.
- Higgins, A (2007) A Recovery Approach within the Irish Mental Health Services: A Framework for Development. Mental Health Commission, Dublin http://www.mhcirl.ie/Publications
- Higgins A. & McBennett P. (2007) The petals of recovery in a mental health context. British Journal of Nursing 16 (14) 852-856
- Kartalova-O’Doherty Y., Stevenson C. & Higgins, A. (2012) Reconnecting with life: a grounded theory study of mental health recovery in Ireland. Journal of Mental Health. 21(2): 136–144.
- Peplau H. (1988) Interpersonal Relations in Nursing. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Education.
- Repper J. & Perkins R. (2003) Social Inclusion and Recovery; A Model for Mental Health Practice, Edinburgh: Balliere Tindall
- Reynolds B. (2009) ‘Developing therapeutic one-to-one relationships’ in Barker, P. (Ed.) (2009)
- Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: The Craft of Caring. 2nd Edition. London: Hodder Arnold.
- Videbeck S. (2004) ‘Therapeutic Relationships’ in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 2nd Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (chapter 5).
- Morrissey, J. & Callaghan, P. (2011) ‘Communication Skills for Mental Health Nurses An Introduction, Open University Press, Berkshire.
* Additional readings will be given for each unit of learning.