This brief, but thorough, textbook on mental health nursing is written from PeplauFs interpersonal perspective. The authors cover basic ment al health nursing principles while stressing the importance of placing the patient in social context, making a personal connection with the patient, using holistic nursing assessment principles, and avoiding ne gative stereotyping. The consumer point of view is interwoven througho ut with the comments of Simon Champ, a mental health activist who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young man. Reflective questions and journal exercises are also interspersed throughout.