Introducing Mental Health: A Practical Guide

An easy to read, jargon-free introduction to mental health, this practical guide is written for qualified and non-qualified practitioners. The authors explain key concepts in easily understandable language, accessible even to those with no prior knowledge of the subject. They detail the major mental health disorders and the issues and implications surrounding them, and include separate chapters on personality disorder, dual diagnosis and self-harm. They provide in-depth practical information on: * the Mental Health Act * diagnosis and medication * risk assessment and management. This guide is full of useful information, practical suggestions, and strategies for anyone working with people who are experiencing mental illness. It will prove invaluable to housing workers, support workers, probation officers, prison health care officers, student nurses and anyone coming in to contact with mental health issues.

Table of Contents:
Foreword. Vikram Patel, Senior Psychiatrist, WHO. Introduction: A Note from the Authors. 1. Severe Mental Illness. 2. Treatment and Support. 3. Risk Assessment and Management. 4. Working with Dual Diagnosis. 5. Introducing Personality Disorder. 6. Working with People who Self-Harm. 7. Conclusion. Appendix: Introducing the Mental Health Act. Subject Index. Author Index.

About the Author :
Caroline Kinsella has 23 years of experience of working in the NHS with patients with mental problems. For the last 13 years she has been working with mentally disordered offenders. Currently Caroline works as a Community Forensic Mental Health Nurse for a NHS Trust in Dorset. Connor Kinsella worked as a mental health nurse in London for twelve years and established JCK Training in February 1998. He has spent most of his career working at a senior level with mentally disordered offenders and acutely disturbed `high risk' clients. He continues to work as part of the Blandford Community Mental Health Team in Dorset.

Review :
Introducing Mental Health will be of particular value in my organisation because it is so easy to read and splendidly free of jargon. The authors explain key concepts and easily understandable language, accessible even with no prior knowledge of the subject. My own understanding was hugely enriched by engaging with this material. In depth practical information is also included in the mental health act; diagnosis of medication; risk assessment and management; violent and challenging behaviour and communication between agencies. This accessible text offers a jargon-free introduction to mental health for a wide variety of practitioners - such as housing workers, probation officers, student nurses and others - whose work brings them into contact with mentally ill people. The authors (both mental health nurses) provide an overview of the different types of serious mental illnesses before discussing various medications and talking treatments. Other topics addressed include risk assessment, dual diagnosis, and personality disorder. The text of the 1983 Mental Health Act (UK) is found in the appendix. The book has a practical orientation which reflects years of experience that authors Caroline and Conner Kinsella have gained by both working and training in the fields such as housing and prisons, who require practical but basic knowledge of complex issues, an aim in which the book succeeds. The guide does what it claims in the title - it introduces mental health and is jargon-free. It also provides a wealth of information that is easily digested. This is a user-friendly introduction to mental health that would appeal across the board. It must be essential reading in particular for those embarking on study or work in this profession or indeed professionals who have contact at any level with people who experience mental health issues. It would also be a useful tool for those teaching in the profession since it contains case studies and bullet points summaries that would be very helpful in presentations, individual study or interactive group work.