Now in its updated Fourth Edition, this popular text is designed for undergraduate nursing programs that teach a shortened or integrated psychiatric-mental health core course. The book presents sound nursing theory, therapeutic modalities, and clinical applications for the major DSM-IV-TR disorders across the treatment continuum, from hospital to home setting. The text uses the nursing process framework and emphasizes assessment, therapeutic communication, neurobiology, and psychopharmacologic intervention. Features focus on developing student self-awareness, communication skills, and utilizing family and community resources.

A bound-in CD-ROM and companion Website offer numerous student and instructor resources, including Clinical Simulations, psychotropic drug monographs, and movie viewing guides.