CPD articles
Our continuing professional development (CPD) articles are designed to assist with your nursing skills and practice.
Sexual violence: a trauma-informed approach for mental health nurses
Effects of sexual violence on survivors and the principles of trauma-informed care
Using team formulation in mental health practice
Evidence and techniques for team formulation in therapeutic work
Use of individual formulation in mental health practice
To learn about two transdiagnostic models of formulation that you could use in your practice
Introducing mentalization and its role in mental health practice
How individuals learn to mentalize during childhood, and in response to stress
Using the STARTER model to talk about sex in mental health nursing practice
The STARTER model is a step-by-step tool encouraging conversations about sexual health
Implementing trauma-informed care in mental health services
Mental health practitioners can support service users to move beyond traumatic events
Well-being, physical and mental health: Helping service users cope with schizophrenia
Part 3 of our series explores the causes of schizophrenia and how it can lead to self-neglect
Nursing care plans in mental health
An exploration of best practice in co-creating recovery-orientated care plans
Improving physical health of people with mental illness: holistic nursing assessments
People with a mental illness are more susceptible to physical ill health
Well-being, physical and mental health: part 2. Responding to trauma
Mental and physical health work together to support well-being, and never more importantly than when a patient experiences a sudden and devastating trauma. This article explores the interplay of mental and physical health in the context of acid attack burns to someone’s face. It explains trauma in event terms and how an understanding of types of psychological trauma can be drawn on to advance collaborative nursing practice in a burns unit. While nurses have been educated in separate disciplines, it is argued that working across the traditional divide can be advantageous in trauma situations. This is the second article in a series on ‘well-being, physical and mental health’.
Well-being, physical and mental health: part 1
This article explains how physical health fits into the overall well-being of a person and why people with a mental illness are more likely than the rest of the population to experience poor physical health. It represents the first article in a series on body and mind, well-being and how physical and mental health issues interact as focal points for the work of mental health nurses. Historically, mental health and physical health have been conceived in western healthcare as separate domains and our preparation of registered nurses for practice has often reflected this. However, in this series, case studies are used to show how closely physical and mental health interact and how the two are important to sustain a state of well-being. The series is designed to help registered nurses reflect on their current practice and to help students to anticipate the range of care requirements that may be needed when a service user comes into their care.
Solution-oriented learning: an approach that promotes motivation and resilience
This article explores the use of solution-oriented learning as an approach to coping with formal learning and practice development needs. The article explains each step of the solution-oriented learning process and gives examples related to student and qualified nurses’ experiences. Time out activities offer opportunities to apply theory to practice. The authors propose that wider application of the solution-oriented learning principles can support nurses in building resilience.