Recall that kinematics is the study of motion and, specifically, it is the study of the relationships between position, velocity, acceleration, and time.

This chapter discusses the required knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide a safe and compassionate environment by adopting trauma-informed care (TIC). Many people will have experienced traumatic experiences outside of the safety of their family unit, e.g., bullying, or sexual harassment. Therefore, we need to be cautious about blaming parents or care givers, without first establishing the situation and context of the traumatic history of the person.Many people who present to mental health, addiction and disability services, however, will report complex histories of physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse (see chapter 15). Evolving research recommends therapeutically addressing complex, as distinct from single incident, trauma (Kezelman & Stavropoulos, 2019), requiring a particular skill set of the practitioner to provide effective therapy. This chapter focuses on the fundamental skills of responding to people who disclose their trauma, particularly sexual abuse, and how practitioners can respond in ways that foster human connectedness.

This chapter explores a range of challenges for students as they learn to apply interpersonal skills within the mental health practicum placement and other non-mental health settings. Exploration of the student’s attitudes, expectations and positive engagement within practice begins the chapter. This is followed by discussion of power relations characterising the therapeutic relationship, including the development of emotional competence. The chapter outlines reflective practice as a critical thinking process and clinical supervision for the beginning mental health nursing student. It explores the importance of developing skills to work within a trauma-informed care and practice framework. How to go about developing objectives for practice, the process of self-assessment and personal problem solving are discussed. Reflection, self in-action and post-placement are explored as they relate to learning in mental health. Throughout this chapter, critical examination of the ethical and political influences on care will be highlighted. This chapter also considers non-traditional opportunities to learn, and the experience of transition programs into mental health nursing.

Experiencing mental ill-health has long been recognised as being associated with a range of physical conditions that shorten life or impose limitations on physical well-being. Although the causes of this association are uncertain, it is absolutely clear that the experience of enduring mental ill-health in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will be associated with a shorter life span (Firth et al. 2019; Cunningham, Peterson et al., 2014). The chapter addresses the more commonly experienced co-occurrring physical conditions (also known as comorbidities), looking at the prevalence and specific characteristics of each among those experiencing recurring mental ill-health. The effects of medication on physical health and well-being are explored. Complementary approaches to augmenting well-being are addressed. This includes exercise, diet and stress-reduction strategies as well as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and complementary and alternative medicines (CAM). The final part of the chapter looks at approaches that are useful in preventing, or limiting the effects of co-occurring physical ill-health.

This chapter provides an overview of the common medicines prescribed within mental health care and explores the ways in which personal narratives and social expectations can influence the experience of taking medicines. The chapter also looks at concepts and practices that influence the management of medicines and encourage safe and high-quality use of medicines. These concepts include consumer experience, concordance, and shared decision-making. Facilitating a positive experience of medicinal use requires quality communication and team work, whereby nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, dietitians, medical practitioners and pharmacists work in partnership with the consumer and carer.

This chapter explores the legal and ethical factors that inform mental health nursing, from multiple perspectives. The chapter proposes a legal and ethical framework that promotes human connectedness between the practitioner and people with mental health conditions and their families and whānau. The chapter includes theoretical and practical aspects of working within a legal framework and provides several narratives to bring to life what it means to experience compulsory treatment. It concludes by discussing proposed alternatives to compulsory treatment and a potential future legal framework that embraces a person’s autonomy and human rights. New Zealand – and each Australian state and territory – has its own mental health legislation. Although there are differences between them, they share the essential features of providing for treatment without consent, criteria of danger or risk to self and others, and certain procedural protections. Throughout this chapter we use the term ‘mental health legislation’ to refer to common aspects of the legislation in different jurisdictions.

Assessment in the mental health field is a dynamic process of learning, using experience and applying multiple sources of knowledge and evidence. This chapter presents an overview of assessment practices and processes undertaken within formal mental health care and discusses these within the context of consumer–health practitioner partnerships. We start by considering how assessment practices are a prominent feature of understanding a person’s situation and life context, and how these need to be based on the principles of person-centred, trauma-informed care and cultural safety. We discuss the importance of engagement and therapeutic relationships skills in ensuring consumers, carers and family members are meaningfully connected within a process for identifying the mental health problems the person is experiencing. Part of this awareness is reflecting on what it is like for a person to be assessed, and the power dynamics involved in naming experience, symptoms and diagnosis. The chapter then looks at the paradigm of comprehensive assessment, with specific discussions about strengths-based assessment, mental state examination and the roles of different health professionals.

This chapter introduces students in the health professions to a new and developing area of mental health practice: e-mental health. It describes a range of digital interventions and explores how digital and mobile technologies are providing additional avenues for helping people with mental health problems in densely populated and hard-to-reach communities. It is important for practitioners to acquire and develop proficient digital literacy skills in the e-mental health service sector. Some types of digital and mobile interventions are considered, along with some of the benefits and limitations that relate to e-mental health in general. As emerging health care professionals, students increasingly will be expected to utilise e-health interventions and strategies in the delivery of health care. The chapter introduces the e-mental health environment in general, and helps students to develop the knowledge and skills needed to implement person-centred e-mental health care to individuals and populations.