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Specialist mental health nurses need a thorough understanding of current approaches to mental health care including different service models of care, as well as emerging trends in care. These nurses also need to recognise that there is a cultural basis to the interpretation of behaviour and that conventional psychiatry may have limitations for people with non-English speaking backgrounds.

This course builds on learning about theoretical perspectives, the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health workforce and the ACMHN Standards of Practice for Australian Mental Health Nurses 2010 in other courses. The nurses' understanding of mental illness and the conventional psychological interventions, physical treatments and psychopharmacology as well as current issues, such as, mainstreaming and integration are explored. Students will learn to critically evaluate alternative, holistic and empowering approaches to the care of clients from across the lifespan in a range of settings including community, rehabilitation, acute inpatient and specialty areas, with an emphasis on inter-cultural care. Students will have the opportunity to apply knowledge and develop the related skills and attitudes appropriate when working with a person with a mental illness utilising previously learned theoretical perspectives and standards of practice.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Contribute to the provision of mental health services identified in the government strategic directions;
2. Assess and care for a person experiencing a mental illness;
3. Apply knowledge of the needs of special groups of people with mental health problems;
4. Promote and maintain mental health of diverse cultural groups, families, individuals and communities using culturally relevant interventions;
5. Apply knowledge of current issues in mental health to their practice;
6. Facilitate patient centred care with collaboration between institutional and community services and aligning with recovery principles.