Mental health nurses are usually hospital based however they can also work with service users in the community. Nurses who work within the hospital can work in: Psychiatric ICU, Psychiatric wards, Outpatients Unit, Eating disorder Units, Community based Nurses, GP Surgery, Community health care center, Prison and  Patients homes

As a mental health nurse you will frequently work as part of a team with other professionals and agencies such: GP’s, Psychologists, Social workers, and Art Therapist.

Communication skills are crucial to the job role as you need to constantly engage in team discussions and one to way conversation with the service user. They must also have a good knowledge of the mental health and illness theories and apply it in practice. You must be able to show real empathy with the service user but not become too attached with the individual. A risk of violence is often associated with mental health nursing and psycho-social, communication and observational skills are needed to be able to notice when the risk is increased and then be able to defuse the situation.