All a matter of common sense? An introduction to psychology

It is sometimes the case that a care plan will make a reference to some notion of what is termed 'psychological care' with little explanation of what this means or how it might be achieved beyond some common sense comments about communication. Although psychology yields a body of knowledge which is of use to nursing practice, it is generally only in recent years that the subject has been made formally available to many nurses. As with all theoretical concepts, it is important to explore the application of theory to practice. This article, the first of a six-part series, presents an introduction to psychology by comparing and contrasting its contribution to nursing with common sense approaches. The points raised are illustrated with examples from a range of nursing specialties.