[Revision] Therapeutic approaches in Mental Health Nursing
On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:
LO1 Identify and critically appraise the evidence base supporting a therapeutic approach in mental health nursing
LO2 Critically reflect on the importance of the therapeutic relationship in mental health nursing and the value of recovery orientated working.
LO3 Critically evaluate the implementation of a therapeutic approach in mental health nursing practice
What is the assignment about? The assignment is to encourage you to use literature to critically examine the use of a specific therapeutic approach. You will need to introduce the psychotherapeutic approach (i.e. CBT, DBT, STEPPS, relapse prevention, BSFT, CFT, MI, mindfulness) demonstrating a critical understanding of its inception through to its current manifestation in the literature and practice. You will then introduce the client/s and specific type of distress the therapy was aiming to ameliorate.
The main body will then be using experiences from practice, underpinned by current theory, in order to demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the theory and application of your chosen psychotherapeutic approach in mental health nursing practice. The examples from practice can be from your application of a therapeutic approach in MH nursing and/or practice that you have observed being applied in your practice. All therapeutic interventions MUST be within the limitations of your knowledge and competence and within your role as a student nurse. You must pass each of the three learning outcomes to successfully pass the assignment.
• Introduction (say what you are going to say) – this should signpost the reader to what they can expect to encounter as they read through your work. Use the key points stated in the assessment task. So, what is the therapeutic approach? What is the nature of distress or difficulty? How does your approach fit with the recovery model?
• Main part (say it) – you may find it helpful to look at the learning outcomes for this module. Please remember to use examples from your practice experience and support these with relevant theory. You also need to identify where you feel you have developed further in this area. Give an account of the psychotherapeutic approach, a brief history and underpinning theory. Give examples of how elements of the approach have been used in the context of your mental health nursing experience. Remember that you need to demonstrate a clear knowledge of the approach you used and why it was appropriate for the type of issue it was applied to. You need to state how the approach aligns with mental health nursing practice and the recovery model.
• Conclusion (say what you have said and reflect on what you have learned) – this should sum up your work and consider how exploring this has influenced your thinking and relational experiences. How will this inform your nursing practice?