[mahum]

Hi I'm thinking of applying to a mental health nurse course

I want to read a book about physcotherapy or mental illnesses to give me an edge for my interview etc.

Could anyone recommend a good book I could read and then talk about in my interview?

[Sazza A]

i'm not sure if this is any good for your course, but i would totally recommend ; The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks
It shows special cases of different people that have different mental illnesses.. not sure if this is more aimed at psych student tho but do check out other books written by Dr Sacks. He writes in an amazing way

[Miracle Day]

One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest.

[WhimsyMelody]

(Original post by Sazza A)
i'm not sure if this is any good for your course, but i would totally recommend ; The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks
It shows special cases of different people that have different mental illnesses.. not sure if this is more aimed at psych student tho but do check out other books written by Dr Sacks. He writes in an amazing way

I read that! Good book =)

And One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a good example of WHAT NOT TO DO as a psychiatric mental health nurse.

What you could do is look for an PMHN exam study guide book. That would a) give you a good overview of what you need to know, b) give a little insight as to what goes on in the field, and c) give you an edge for the interview =)

[Star7]

The Myth of Mental Illness by Thomas Szasz is definitely worth a read, it's a critique of psychiatry and explores how diagnosing people with mental disorders absolves them of personal responsibility, it's quite intriguing.

The Divided Self by R.D. Laing, it concentrates more on the nature of psychosis and how it's really a result of the two selves (our private identity and the self that we present to everyone else) conflicting.

Both books were very influential in the way mental illness is now seen and had impacts on perhaps more humanistic approaches to treatments.