Mental health and psychiatric nursing
The therapeutic relationship, suicide risk, de-escalation, care by disorder group, psychotropic medicines and Colombia's Law 1616 of 2013.
35 pages
Safe practice
- Agitation and aggression: early warning signs, verbal de-escalation and the team responseSpot the early signs, keep distance and a way out, let one calm person talk, offer choices and…
- Antidepressants: the delayed effect, early suicide risk, serotonin syndrome and the MAOI dietAntidepressants take weeks to work; the nurse watches mood and suicide risk early, spots…
- Antipsychotics: extrapyramidal effects and the AIMS, NMS, metabolic monitoring and clozapine safetyThe nurse watches antipsychotics for abnormal movements, fever with rigidity, weight and sugar…
- Anxiety and panic: levels of anxiety and the nursing response at each levelJudge the level of anxiety, from mild to panic, and match it: talk and coping at low levels…
- Anxiolytics and sleep medicines: sedation, falls, dependence and withdrawalBenzodiazepines and sleep medicines calm quickly but sedate, cause falls and dependence; the…
- Caring for a person in mania: safety, limits, low stimulation, food, fluids and sleepLower the stimulation, set the same firm, calm limits across the team, keep the person fed…
- Caring for a person with dementia: communication, behaviours, wandering, safety and caregiver supportSpeak simply and with respect, look for the cause behind distress, keep routines and a safe…
- Caring for a person with depression: safety, self-care, activity and hopeKeep the person safe, help with food, sleep, bowels and hygiene step by step, stay present even…
- Caring for a person with psychosis: hallucinations, delusions, trust and early relapse signsBuild trust, do not argue with delusions or treat voices as real, ask about command…
- Child and adolescent mental-health nursing: approach, family, school and ADHD medicine monitoringThe nurse builds trust at the child's level, works with family and school, uses behavioural…
- Community mental health: primary care, home follow-up, rehabilitation, recovery and stigmaCommunity mental-health nursing follows people close to home: early detection, home visits…
- Crisis intervention: the phases and the nurse's roleA crisis is a short period when usual coping fails; the nurse assesses safety and resources and…
- Eating disorders: medical monitoring, supervised meals and the refeeding riskWatch vital signs, weight, electrolytes and heart rhythm, supervise meals and the hour after…
- Lithium and other mood stabilisers: blood levels, toxicity signs, fluids and laboratory checksLithium works only in a narrow blood range: the nurse checks levels, fluids and salt, spots…
- Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: rituals, routines and nursing supportExplore hidden distress with tact, keep a steady routine, support the agreed treatment, help the…
- Personality disorders: consistent limits, self-harm, splitting and team consistencyKeep the person safe, set clear limits that the whole team applies the same way, respond to…
- Psychoeducation and nurse-led groups: families, relaxation, assertiveness and social skillsThe nurse teaches the person and family about the condition, treatment and warning signs, and…
- Psychotropic medicines: what the nurse assesses, monitors and teaches (no doses)Before and after each psychotropic medicine, the nurse asks how the person feels, looks for side…
- Somatic symptom, functional and dissociative disorders: the nursing approachBelieve that the symptoms are real, keep one steady care team, focus on function and coping…
- Substance use from the nursing side: screening, intoxication, harm reduction and recoveryScreen everyone without judging, recognise intoxication and overdose, protect the airway, offer…
- Suicide risk: screening, a safety plan, observation levels and a safe environmentAsk directly about suicide, assess the plan and the means, make the setting safe, agree a…
- The nurse–patient therapeutic relationship: phases, boundaries, self-awareness and transferenceA therapeutic relationship has a purpose, goes through orientation, working and termination…
- The therapeutic milieu: the ward as treatment, its structure, rules and safetyThe therapeutic milieu is a safe, welcoming and structured ward where routines, groups, people…
- Trauma-informed care and nursing for PTSD and acute stressCare for every person as if they may carry trauma: explain, ask before touching, offer choices…
Assessment
- Alcohol withdrawal: CIWA-Ar monitoring, seizure and delirium precautions and thiamine before glucoseKnow when withdrawal starts, score it regularly with the CIWA-Ar, keep seizure and fall…
- Delirium: screening (CAM), prevention and nursing careWatch daily for sudden changes in attention, thinking and alertness, screen with a validated…
- Mental-health nursing assessment: history, the mental status from the nursing side and risk screeningThe nurse observes and asks about mood, thought, behaviour and risk, takes a psychosocial…
- Opioid withdrawal and overdose risk: COWS monitoring, naloxone and safe dischargeRate withdrawal with the COWS, keep the person hydrated and calm, know how to respond to an…
Law
- Colombia's mental-health and substance-use policies: from Res. 4886 de 2018 and Res. 089 de 2019 to Decreto 729 de 2025 and Res. 2100 de 2025, with Ley 1566 de 2012Colombia's mental-health policy is now Decreto 729 de 2025 and its substance-use policy Res
- Ley 1616 de 2013: the Colombian mental-health law from the nursing sideLey 1616 de 2013 makes mental health a right and a priority, lists patients' rights and…
Procedure
- Electroconvulsive therapy: preparation, recovery and memory effectsECT is given under general anaesthesia; the nurse teaches, checks consent and fasting, prepares…
- Seclusion and mechanical restraint in psychiatry: a last resort, monitoring and debriefingSeclusion and restraint are emergency measures of last resort: used only for immediate danger…
Fundamental
- Psychiatric and mental-health nursing: roles, settings, levels of care and the nursing processMental-health nurses use the nursing process, the therapeutic relationship and a safe…
- Psychosocial care for victims of Colombia's armed conflict (Ley 1448 de 2011, PAPSIVI)Victims of the armed conflict have a right to psychosocial and health rehabilitation; nurses…
- Rights in mental-health care: consent, capacity, involuntary care and the least restrictive optionPeople in mental-health care keep their rights: information, consent, confidentiality, dignity…
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Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.