Developing the general principles of psychological skills in mental health nursing

The world's older population is expected to show a three-fold increase in the next 50 years. In 2000, older people in the UK accounted for nearly one-sixth of the population. As people live longer, pressure on services to deliver interventions that meet the psychological as well as the physical needs of older people will increase (Laidlaw 2004). In the past 20 years, cognitive behavioural therapy has become an increasingly popular approach to a wide range of mental health problems (Hollon 1998) and evidence of its efficacy has grown remarkably (Sourial 1997; Hollon et al 1993; Laidlaw 2004). This article shows that older people can and do benefit from CBT provided by clinical nurse specialists. It also argues that providing opportunities for mental health staff to increase their understanding of CBT is another important function of the specialist nurse's role.