Appendix 2 Jargon buster

Accountability A legal, ethical and moral responsibility to ensure that nursing practice is in the service user's best interests

Approved mental health professional (AMHP) A mental health practitioner who has been trained to perform a pivotal role in assessing and deciding whether there are grounds to detain a person who is experiencing mental health problems without their consent

Autonomous The ethical right to make an informed and free decision

Clinical supervision A facilitated discussion which aims to encourage the practitioner to reflect and learn from their clinical experiences

Collaboration Working together towards a common goal

Compliant Following a recommended course of action or treatment

Concordant Having involvement in decision-making processes

Confidentiality A legal and professional responsibility to ensure information regarding service users is only available to those who are authorised to have access

Consent Giving approval of a decision or action after consideration

Defensive practice Practice which is primarily concerned with preventing possible malpractice legal action as opposed to the service users' best interests

Delusion A belief that is held by a person despite a lack of evidence to support its truth

Direct payments Local council payments for people who have been assessed as needing help from social services, and who would like to arrange and pay for their own care and support services instead of receiving them directly from the local council

Discrimination Excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to others

Dual diagnosis People who have a substance misuse problem and a mental health problem

Expressed emotion The level of feeling displayed in families or teams towards a person with mental health problems

Hallucination An unusual perception which is there when we are awake and has qualities of real perceptions

Human rights The freedoms that all humans are entailed to

Informal service user (patient) A person who is an in-patient in a 24-hour care setting but has not been legally detained against their will

Mania The presence of extremely high energy levels and elevated mood

Mental Capacity Act Primarily concerned with providing a legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of adults who lack the ability to make particular decisions for themselves

Mental Health Act Primarily concerned with providing a legal framework to allow people to be detained in hospital against their will for assessment and treatment of mental health problems (also known as sectioning)

Multidisciplinary Involvement of a number of professional groups with the aim of providing an integrated approach to care

Nearest relative A close relative who the AMHP has identified from a hierarchy defined in the Mental Health Act. The nearest relative has the right to request an assessment for their relative to be detained in hospital and apply for their relative to be discharged from a Section which has been enforced

Neurotransmitters Chemicals which pass messages from a neuron to a target cell

Personal budgets An allocation of funding given to service users after an assessment which should be sufficient to meet their assessed needs. Users can either take their personal budget as a direct payment, or, while still choosing how their care needs are met and by whom, leave councils with the responsibility to commission the services

Prejudice An assumption made about someone without having sufficient or accurate knowledge to make a judgement

PRN medication Medication which is given when needed or when a specific situation arises

Prodromal symptom An early sign which can indicate the start of an illness before specific symptoms relating to that illness occur

Psychiatry The medical specialty focused on the assessment and treatment of mental disorder

Psychoeducation Information shared with the service user and their family about the possible cause, nature and treatment of mental health problems

Psychosis/psychotic A medical term used to describe people who are experiencing voices, unusual perceptions or expressing unusual beliefs

Psychotropic medication Drugs which act on the central nervous system to alter brain function resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, thoughts and behaviour

Reflection The self-observation of personal thoughts, behaviours and influence on others

Relapse signature The unique signs that indicate a person's level of distress is increasing

Relapse drill The pre-agreed actions which should be taken during periods of increased distress to reduce the likelihood of relapse or the disruption caused by relapse

Responsible clinician (RC) The approved clinician with overall responsibility for the service user's case

Sectioning Unofficial term for use of the Mental Health Act to detain a person in hospital against their will

Social exclusion The multiple effects of discrimination including loss of roles, relationships and access to community and financial resources

Social inclusion Regaining hope, a sense of personal control and access to opportunities

STAT dose A single dose of medication which is given immediately

Statutory/public sector Services which are provided by the government and funded by taxes

Voluntary/independent sector Services which are provided by charities or self-regulated organisations. These services may be partly funded by the government through the provision of grant schemes. Alternatively, they may be paid for by the individual accessing the service or through charitable donations