Introduction

The chapters within this section will aim to support you to develop the clinical skills which will enable you to respond effectively to mental health service users who are experiencing a range of problems and complex needs. The chapters will offer you a variety of approaches which you can adopt when working with people who use mental health services and aim to ensure your interventions are informed by a clear rationale and evidence base. While we view these skills as appropriate for a student mental health nurse to develop, it is important to discuss any planned interventions with your mentor before you attempt to apply them to your practice.

The section begins with broad skills which can be applied to any placement setting and moves on to explore skills which are suited to a specific difficulty the service user might be experiencing. It will finally look at the area of personal development. This will include exploring the attributes which will enable you to respond effectively to challenging situations in practice and how to begin to develop skills in leadership and management.