This innovative new textbook covers a range of clinical situations a nurse may encounter in their professional career, providing useful insights into challenging patient - and colleague - encounters. Written by a team of educators and clinicians with considerable expertise in their respective fields, the book focuses on the application of psychology in key areas of nursing (child, adult, older people, learning disabilities, mental health) providing practical approaches and techniques that nurses can use in their daily practice with patients. It includes several features to support teaching and learning:

· Clearly defined learning outcomes for each chapter
· Examples throughout to illustrate the application of psychology
· Case studies following a student nurse through different placements and experiences during her nurse training
· Structured activities and questions for discussion to encourage reflection on practice
· Annotated suggestions for further reading

With nurses increasingly being held to public and professional account, the importance of understanding a clinical encounter, in particular the psychological aspects of it together with developing a skillset to respond to patients, has never been greater. This accessible and entertaining book will be indispensable reading for nurses at undergraduate and graduate level, particularly those on the pre-registration nursing diploma and Bsc (Hons) in Nursing.

Alison Torn is a Senior Lecturer in psychology at Leeds Trinity University.

Pete Greasley is a Teaching Fellow in the Division of Health Research at Lancaster University.