Regardless of the setting of mental health care, an interprofessional or multidisciplinary approach is a sound response to the multifaceted problems faced by people with mental health problems. Through collaboration with consumers, the needs of the person experiencing mental health problems can be comprehensively met.An interprofessional workforce involves a range of professions and other staff with different educational backgrounds. These are broadening, increasingly, from the traditional professions employed in mental health services – medical, nursing, social work, psychology and occupational therapy – to embrace other workers with skills to contribute. Some of these groups are subject to regulation through their professional bodies and national regulatory authorities. Other groups working with the mental health workforce are not subject to such authority or regulation. This has supported the development of standards for the mental health workforce in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, in order to provide uniform and consistent guidelines to govern everyone working with people experiencing mental health problems.

Aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, management and treatment options

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.

Aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, management and treatment options

Prevalence of disease, risks, impact on fertility, Medical Eligibility Criteria 3 and 4, advantages, disadvantages, special considerations

Indications, procedures, complications, management

This chapter will discuss the process of positive ageing, the life course, and the changing cultural norms of older people within contemporary society. The chapter will assist nurses to consider and understand how ageism and subsequent stigma and discrimination can impact on the well-being of the older person and their family/loved ones. The multiple losses and associated mental health problems will also be presented. The specific approaches to nursing care required to support human connectedness with older people will also be discussed. Common mental health problems, associated risk factors and considerations for treatment embedded within a recovery approach are explained. The chapter concludes with future issues for this area of specialty nursing practice.

Prevalence of disease, risks, impact on fertility, Medical Eligibility Criteria 3 and 4, advantages, disadvantages, special considerations

This chapter introduces the intersections between mental health care and drug and alcohol care. It addresses the implications for holistic health care needs related to dual drug and alcohol use, and concurrent mental health conditions. It tells the contemporary, real-life story of a person who developed an episode of psychosis following consumption of premixed alcohol and caffeine drinks. The chapter also describes change models applied to substance use and recovery, such as motivational interviewing and stages of change readiness. Both common and less common drugs and their misuse affect the physical, social, cognitive and mental health dimensions of people with mental health conditions. Reflective exercises guide readers to consider how they will be able to promote mental health and well-being and minimise drug-related harm to individuals and communities in a practice context.

Long term male method of contraception, vasectomy, is described, along with immediate and long term complications and success rates

Special needs of LGBT community, donors, recipients, assisted conception, screening

In this chapter a brief synopsis is provided of the terminology of learning disability (LD), intellectual (ID) and developmental disability (DD). Determinants of physical and mental well-being and associated comorbidities for people living with IDD are explained. Students are enabled to recognise, facilitate and optimise an individual’s rights, identity, autonomy, and self-determination in any community or mental health setting.Deinstitutionalisation was informed by philosophical approaches including normalisation (Wolfensberger, 1972; Nirje, 1969), social role valorisation (Wolfensberger, 1983) and the social model of disability (Oliver, 2013; Race et al., 2005). These approaches inform mental health assessment and responsiveness through reasonable adjustments or accommodations (Heslop et al., 2019). Within Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, these philosophies are exemplified through the principles embedded within EGL (Enabling Good Lives) and the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) respectively and are linked to responsibilities under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) when working with those in mental distress.

Pre-exisisting disease, infections, counselling, pre-pregnancy risk assessment, contraception, risks, health advice, weight management

There are many ways of being Māori. Ethnicity in New Zealand has now moved to a more contemporary approach of self-identification that assumes ethnicity is not static and predetermined. This means that any combination of physical features, cultural beliefs and ways of living can be found in people who self-identify as Māori. For Māori, health and culture are intricately linked, so there are vital aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori worldview) that must be understood in relation to their mental health experiences in order to provide safe and effective care. In this chapter we discuss how practitioners from all cultural backgrounds can engage with tangata whaiora and whānau in mental health and addiction settings. It will be helpful for people practising in the New Zealand context, as well as those who encounter people of Māori descent in Australia or elsewhere. It will assist practitioners to consider how institutional racism might influence their ability to care for Māori, and will encourage the exploration of personal cultural beliefs to transcend this.

Prevalence, pathophysiology, endocrinology, diagnostics, therapeutic options

Composition, types, mechanism of action, efficacy, effectiveness, health risks, benefits, usage and follow up of progesterone implants