Mental Health Nursing
Mental health nursing is a specialist branch of nursing concerned with supporting and caring for people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health, across the full range of conditions from anxiety and depression to psychosis, personality disorders and dementia. Mental health nurses work in hospitals, community settings, crisis services, forensic units, substance misuse services and primary care, often as part of multidisciplinary teams that include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists. The role requires both clinical knowledge and the interpersonal skills to build therapeutic relationships with patients and their families.
At Birmingham Newman University you will study for three years full-time, developing knowledge and understanding of different mental health problems and how they affect individuals, families and society across the lifespan. You will learn the clinical skills to support and care for people in acute and community mental health settings, developing the compassionate and analytical approach that the role demands. Mental health nursing combines direct patient care with care coordination, risk assessment, medicines management and advocacy, and the programme prepares you for the full scope of this complex and rewarding professional practice.
Registered mental health nurses work across NHS mental health trusts, independent hospitals, community mental health teams, crisis and home treatment services, forensic services and third sector organisations. The profession offers genuine diversity of setting and specialism, with opportunities to develop expertise in areas such as eating disorders, learning disabilities, perinatal mental health, child and adolescent mental health and dual diagnosis. Many nurses go on to postgraduate study in cognitive behavioural therapy, advanced clinical practice, nurse prescribing or leadership, and the expanding scope of nursing roles in mental health means that career development opportunities continue to grow.
The profession consistently offers strong employment prospects across the UK and internationally.