The first edition of this textbook was published in 2001 and its success surpassed our expectations. The editors have received many positive comments about the usefulness of the text and its relevance to everyday practice. The interest in the care of our most disturbed patients has been highlighted by both sales overseas and by the rapid translation of the text into Czech.

Since the publication of the first edition, the sub-specialities of psychiatric intensive care and low secure care have grown from strength to strength. The Department of Health adopted standards developed by members of National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units (NAPICU) that outline the care that should be delivered in Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units (PICUs and LSUs). The publishers of this book have supported NAPICU to develop the first ever journal dedicated to this field: the Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care (http://journals.cambridge.org/jid_JPI). The current chairman of NAPICU, Dr Stephen M. Pereira, played a central role in the development of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline on the short-term management of violence; thus influencing the care of acutely disturbed patients beyond the speciality.

NAPICU continues to organise a successful annual national conference and quarterly regional mini-conferences. The majority of UK mental health trusts are now members of NAPICU, and in order to support the infrastructure of a growing organisation, a permanent NAPICU office has been set up in Glasgow.