In the process of my mental health nurse training (1964-1967) I was fortunate enough to be taught by enlightened tutors who were keen to explore the latest discoveries and new ways of thinking. The emergence of psychology and the behavioural sciences as a means to understanding normal and abnormal behaviour was beginning to change the way in which nurses and other health professionals could analyse and better understand people in their care. It was inevitable that this would find its way into the education of mental health nurses. New medications were making significant inroads in the treatment of depression and psychosis. These treatments, along with more classical approaches such as psychotherapy were playing their part in the eventual closure of the large Victorian asylums…

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This article by Tony Butterworth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License.