Working with serious mental illness: A manual for clinical practice

Andrew Thornton, Mental health nurse

Reason you chose this book

This book whilst painting a very humane approach to nursing allowed me to see how my interventions could really work - giving me insight into how practical nursing skills could be. Above all it instilled in myself how nursing can make a difference to people’s lives. Lives that are side lined in society. This book gave me the tools and perceptions to realise when people are not fulfilling their potential due to serious mental illness and how my role was to help them to realise this potential. Distress can be hidden or seem incongruent to what the person is initially presenting. This book was wonderful in guiding me through what I thought I saw and what was actually going on for that individual.

Review

A solid book based on pragmatic approaches with sound psychosocial interventions – written in a manner which is clear, concise and backed up by research and practical application. Each chapter tackles a relevant subject which fits into an overall concept of care for someone experiencing mental distress. It allowed me to think about and discuss such concepts as stress vulnerability which to this day has an important part to play in my nursing skills and makes me realise how privileged I am in caring for and supporting individuals going through difficulties in their lives.

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