Mental Health is a Verb: A Pocket Guide to Mental Health for Nursing Students - Second Edition

Reviewed by Marie Beechy, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Marian University on 9/11/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook provides a brief overview of various mental health topics as outlined in the table of contents. It includes additional learning opportunities linked within the text, which can help readers explore topics further. However, the main text itself lacks depth, offering only a superficial examination of the subjects covered. While the supplementary materials are useful, the book could benefit from more comprehensive content in the core sections.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text provides accurate and comprehensive coverage of mental health topics, making it a valuable resource for understanding various aspects of the field. However, many of the video resources included are somewhat outdated and may not reflect the latest advancements or current best practices. Updating these resources could enhance the textbook's relevance and utility for readers seeking the most current information. Overall, it remains a solid reference with room for improvement in multimedia content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The textbook offers a broad overview of various psychological topics, providing a useful introduction to the field. However, the coverage of these topics tends to be superficial, lacking depth in some areas. Additionally, the extra resources and videos included appear outdated and are likely to become obsolete soon. While the book serves as a starting point, it would benefit from more in-depth content and updated supplementary materials.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written at a basic level, making it accessible and easily understood by the average consumer and college students. However, its simplicity might be a drawback for those seeking a more in-depth exploration of mental health topics. While the clear language and straightforward approach are beneficial for beginners, the book may not offer the depth required for a more thorough academic understanding. Overall, it serves as a good introductory resource but might fall short for more advanced readers.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook features a consistent structure across chapters, including a Module Outline, Module Learning Outcomes, and clearly defined concepts. Each chapter is well-organized and broken down into easily digestible sections, enhancing readability. While the language and terminology are simplified, this consistency ensures clarity throughout the text. However, the simplistic nature of the language may limit the depth of understanding for more advanced readers.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter includes well organized sections that are broken down into easily digestible pieces. I found the text easy to look through and determine the highlights of the chapters. Important concepts and terms were bolded. The chapters were relatively short and easy to scroll through.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This textbook is exceptionally well-organized, offering a clear and logical structure that enhances its usability. I found the organization more effective than my current text, as it establishes a solid foundation in the first seven chapters before progressing to detailed discussions on thought and mood disorders. This structured approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the material. Overall, the text's organization significantly contributes to its effectiveness as a learning resource.

Interface rating: 5

The text and the images were clear and non-distorted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text is free from grammatical errors. However, some sentences are poorly structured and do not meet the expectations of a college-level nursing textbook. This occasionally impacts the clarity and professionalism of the content. While the text is generally well-written, improving sentence structure would enhance its suitability for academic use.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text does not display any obvious insensitivities and includes culturally diverse care plans, which is a positive feature. However, it lacks significant discussion on bias and diversity issues within mental healthcare. While the diverse care plans are a step in the right direction, the book would benefit from a more comprehensive exploration of these critical topics. Enhancing the coverage of bias and diversity would provide a more well-rounded perspective on mental health.

Comments

This textbook serves as a useful resource for understanding basic mental health concepts, making it accessible for beginners. However, it does not delve deeply into the complexities of the subject matter. While it provides a solid overview, those seeking a more in-depth exploration of mental health topics may find it lacking. Overall, it is a good introductory resource but may need to be supplemented with more detailed materials for advanced study.

Reviewed by Joseph Cusimano, Assistant Professor, Shenandoah University on 4/1/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This textbook attempts to provide a superficial overview of pertinent issues in the realm of psychiatric nursing care, written for an undergraduate nursing audience. While the book does span several topics, divided between "foundational concepts" in the first half and descriptions of notable disease states in the second half, there are some areas that could benefit from additional coverage. For example, Sigmund Freud is singled out, but other key figures like Carl Jung are not mentioned. The initial description of electroconvulsive therapy is also lacking, with surprising mention of the extremely rare practice of psychosurgery. The module on "childhood disorders" covers ADHD, ID, and ASD, but not other DSM diagnoses seen in child and adolescent psychiatry practices (e.g. oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder). The text never addresses gender dysphoria.

Content Accuracy rating: 1

While the textbook does contain a lot of factual content, there are a number of concerning errors. The most severe inaccuracies are in the realm of psychopharmacology, including use of incorrect terminology, inaccuracies, oversimplification, and even dangerous information (e.g., the authors state, “If tardive dyskinesia is recognized, stop the antipsychotic and notify the provider” (Module 4: p. 47), which is dangerous. While tardive dyskinesia may be irreversible if not addressed promptly, nurses should not instruct patients to abruptly stop taking the medication before talking to their physician, as this may result in psychiatric decompensation). In addition, there is a faint bias against medications in the textbook, such as in the statement, “drugs alone cannot cure mental illness” (Module 4: p. 38), which is misleading because (1) many mental illnesses cannot be cured at all and (2) some patient do indeed achieve recovery with the use of psychotropic medications alone in the absence of other treatment modalities. It would be more appropriate to acknowledge, e.g., while medications are often helpful in the treatment of mental illness, they do not always work, and many patients may require more than one medication trial or combinations of medications. The errors are too numerous to list individually, suffice to say that this textbook would benefit immensely from expert review and editing by a psychiatrist or psychiatric pharmacist (of which I am the latter).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I have no significant concerns regarding the textbook's likelihood to become obsolete within a short period of time.

Clarity rating: 3

The prose reads as overly familiar/informal, which may damage credibility with readers. Several sections could be made more clear or introduced with context, especially for an undergraduate audience. E.g., the section about the “Sunrise Enabler” (Module 2: p. 19) is not clear (one has to view the link provided to discover that this is a pictorial representation of Leininger’s theoretical framework) and Sigmund Freud is referenced without any formal introduction. There are instances of inaccurate terminology (e.g., the term “extrapyramidal side effects” is abbreviated with “EPS” when it should be “extrapyramidal symptoms”, Module 4: p. 45; “parkinsonism” is used instead of the correct term “pseudoparkinsonism”, Module 4: p. 46, which is important because "pseudoparkinsonism" reflects the fact that the symptoms are not arising from the pathology of true Parkinson’s disease; "DSM-V-TR" is used instead of "DSM-5-TR" in one place) and terminology without adequate context (e.g., the term "neuroleptic" is introduced without its etymology).

Consistency rating: 3

The textbook is fairly consistent, though there are some notable errors. E.g., the textbook uses both the terms “mental illness” and “mental disorders"; as “disorder” implies that one’s mental health has risen to the level of an “illness” (causing clinically significant distress), it would be simpler to rely on the term “mental illness” throughout instead of “mental disorder”. There's inconsistent use of the terms "complementary alternative medicine" vs. "complementary/alternative medicine" vs. "complementary and alternative medicine". The text is also inconsistently referenced, with many non-scientific sources.

Modularity rating: 5

I have no significant concerns regarding the textbook's modularity.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I have no significant concerns regarding the textbook's organization.

Interface rating: 4

There were only minor problems with the PDF copy that I used. There were links that did not work or were missing. There were a couple formatting issues, including one accidental lack of bolding in a module title (#11) and a random space character that was highlighted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I found a number of minor grammatical errors throughout, as well as sections that seemed oddly worded. Common errors included inappropriate capitalization (e.g., of generic medication names) and incorrect comma placement.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Use of the term “the Devil” (Module 1: p. 12) gives credence towards a Christian worldview in which a capital “D” Devil exists. Otherwise, I did not note any specific concerns. It may be helpful to highlight some cultural issues (e.g., idioms of distress, cultural syndromes, or differences in how symptoms may present to members of one culture).

Comments

I do not quite understand what the authors meant when they titled the text, "Mental Health is a Verb".