Mental Health Nursing & Social Work

Mental health nursing and social work is a dual qualification that prepares graduates to provide clinical care for people experiencing mental health difficulties and to safeguard and support vulnerable individuals and families through social work practice. Mental health nurses work with people experiencing conditions such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and substance misuse, providing therapeutic care in hospitals, community mental health teams, and crisis services. Social workers help people navigate difficult circumstances, protecting those at risk, supporting recovery, and working within legal frameworks to promote wellbeing.

At Edge Hill University, this four-year, full-time programme is one of a small number in the UK that enables dual registration, giving you eligibility to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a qualified mental health nurse and to apply for registration with Social Work England as a qualified social worker. This is a demanding programme that requires substantial time in both mental health nursing practice placements and social work placements, but it produces graduates who are unusually well-equipped to work in settings where health and social care needs overlap, which is increasingly the norm in mental health services.

Graduates are in strong demand in NHS mental health trusts, local authority adult social care departments, community mental health teams, crisis services, and integrated care organisations. The combination of nursing and social work registration opens a wide range of career paths across health and social care, and many graduates go on to develop specialist expertise in areas such as psychosis, dual diagnosis, recovery-oriented practice, or mental health law. Postgraduate study in mental health, social work, or related fields is another route for those who wish to develop further.