Derek Milne presents a practical introduction to the psychology of mental health nursing for student nurses and qualified staff. The book is structured to reflect a problem-solving approach to mental health nursing. The recurring theme is that the major challenges of nursing can be reduced to manageable steps by the use of a systematic strategy. The four main elements of the approach form the basis of the book, namely assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. Each chapter is supplemented by case study material and exercises which both illustrate the theory and provide an opportunity for readers to test some of it out for themselves. The result is a blend of theory, research and practical guidelines, intended to provide some basic guidance but more importantly to foster an educated ’thinking’ approach.