This 18-hour free course explored new ideas and practice in mental health, with the aim of thinking differently about this issue.

Challenging Practice in Mental Health Nursing questions theories and practices which have become central in mental health care today. The book is inspired by the growing concerns of both the public and professionals about accepted methods of practice and their effects on patients and clients. Liam Clarke argues that while many different theories and models exist their validity and effectiveness in caring for patients has yet to be proved. Chapters examine: holism Rogerian and other counselling theories forensic psychiatry rational emotive therapy This will be an essential and thought-provoking read for nurses and other mental health professionals who want to develop as critical practitioners.

This book takes you on a journey of discovery where you are invited to challenge ideas, both new and old, in relation to mental health. It is made up of a series of three extracts. The first extract,?Boundaries of explanation?, sets out the theme of boundaries: boundaries within and between groups; within and between explanatory frameworks; and within and between experiences of mental health and distress. The second extract,?Whose risk is it anyway??, considers a critical account of the increasing focus on risk (particularly risk to others) in policies and professional practice since the 1980s. The third extract,?The business of madness?, looks at two controversial areas of mental health: the growth of mental health as a business, driven in part by market forces, and the profit motive.