Book Review
Edited by Dean Whitehead
Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing:
Concepts of Care in Evidence-Based
Practice, 5th edn
by Mary Townsend. 2006. F.A. Davis,
Philadelphia, PA. ISBN
9780803614512. 981 pp. US$67Æ95.
Psychiatric mental health nursing has
undergone significant change over re-
cent decades, but none more so than at
the turn of the 21st century. Around the
world, health professionals have been
commissioned to identify barriers and
implement strategies to assist those
experiencing serious mental illness. Ra-
pid change has challenged nurses work-
ing alongside such people to broaden
evidence and engage consumers and
their families in individualized, innova-
tive and socially inclusive therapeutic
relationships.
At a global, national and local level,
evidence suggests that easy access, early
intervention, less restrictive environ-
ments and a consumer focus are key
principles in reducing the prevalence
and impact of mental illness within our
communities. Such properties are out-
lined in Mary Townsend’s latest edition
of this reviewed book. This fifth edition
builds on previous editions. The book
updates and reframes the historical
context and theoretical concepts of
mental health and illness, with the
1120
ongoing legislative and ideological chan-
ges occurring within the USA. The book
has also been updated in regard to
North American Nursing Diagnosis
Association (NANDA) taxonomy,
psychotropic medications and the in-
creased web-based resources, useful for
students and nurses working within the
mental health scope. Integral parts have
also been retained. For example, the
core concept of stress adaptation, under-
pinned by a bio-psychosocial perspec-
tive of mental health nursing, remains.
So too do the hallmarks of the contri-
bution to the concept of holistic nursing
and the use of the nursing process (p.
xii).
This book has several strengths and
limitations to it. In terms of strengths
there are several chapters addressing
new topics such as cultural-bound syn-
dromes. Within the new format, each
chapter clearly outlines critical thinking
challenges and review questions for self-
directed learning and test questions. An
innovative difference is the inclusion of
concept mapping. Chapter 9 suggests
that concept mapping is a ‘diagram-
matic teaching and learning strategy
that allows students and faculty to
visualize interrelationships between
medical diagnoses, nursing diagnosis,
assessment data and treatments’
(p. xii). The use of concept mapping,
Ó 2008 The Author. Journal compilation Ó 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
in this context, and the systematic pro-
cess suggested in the text, is a main
strength. This will be especially useful
for mental health nurses working with
NANDA taxonomy. However, this
strength in the book can also be one of
its limitations, in that it may not be as
relevant to students and nurses working
outside of this North American ap-
proach. A further limitation is that,
although the author proposes key con-
cepts of humanity and holistic caring,
the philosophical stance is heavily
weighted towards a medical manage-
ment approach and therefore labels
feature throughout the book.
Overall then, any nurse student, cli-
nician or faculty will find at least some
useful tools within this book to reflect
on and use within their practice. Those
nurses who already subscribe to Town-
send’s significant contribution to under-
graduate texts will be pleased to see
both familiar and new ideas throughout
the book.
Stacey C Wilson
Lecturer
School of Health Sciences
Massey University
Palmerston North
New Zealand
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01939.x