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Mental health nurses are nurses that are qualified to work in both hospitals and within the community to help to support, and enrich the lives of, individuals with mental health conditions. In 2021 there was a total of 43,186 mental health nursing staff members within the NHS, but this figure represents a stark decline in figures compared to the target set for mental health nursing in 2017. There is a clear shortage of qualified mental health nurses in the UK, making this an ideal role if you’re looking for a caring role where you can give back to your community whilst also ensuring continued job security.
Mental health nurses fulfil an incredibly vital role within the NHS, and whilst mental health nursing can be hard work it is also rewarding work. As a mental health nurse, you will support your patients through their recovery, championing their return to health. You will build strong relationships with your colleagues within the mental health team, demonstrating empathy and a clear passion for promoting mental health wellbeing within the community. Wondering whether the role of a mental health nurse is the right path for you? From what mental health nurse salary to expect to how to find mental health nurse jobs, here’s everything you need to know about how to become a mental health nurse:
What is a Mental Health Nurse?
A mental health nurse is a caring and supportive medical professional who works exclusively with individuals with mental health conditions, and their families. It is a role that is rewarding and enriching: you can see the difference you are making in people’s lives each day, and you feel that you are giving back to your community at the same time. As a mental health nurse, you will have a career with excellent employment prospects and will learn an abundance of transferable skills that will be incredibly valuable throughout the rest of your working life. If you’re outgoing, confident, empathetic, and are looking for a career where you spend time with people, and build relationships, then becoming a mental health nurse could be the right path for you.
Academia isn’t the main focus of this role. It’s just as important that you have the right personality type for the work, and that you have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
As a mental health nurse, you will work a standard 37.5 hours per week, although overtime shifts are often available. Your shift patterns will see you work a mixture of nights, early starts, evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Regular shifts and flexible working are sometimes available, depending on the unique needs of your department.
Personal Qualities of a Mental Health Nurse
Mental health nursing is a highly skilled career, but as well as having the right qualifications, you will also need to possess many of these personal qualities to succeed in this role:
- High levels of empathy and understanding. You should be able to actively listen to your patients, ensuring that they feel heard and understood in an environment that is safe and non-judgmental.
- Good communication skills. You should be able to communicate clearly with people of all ages and from all backgrounds. As a mental health nurse, it is likely that you will be dealing with patients that are distressed or confused, and these individuals will need you to listen to them in full and to communicate with them in a healthy way so that you can get to the root cause of their condition. Speaking clearly to your patients and ensuring they understand what you’ve said will be key to building their trust.
- You should be genuinely kind and compassionate and able to relate to the needs of your patients on a human level.
- You should have a good knowledge of psychology and a good knowledge of medicine in order to succeed in this role.
- You should be able to remain calm in stressful or high-intensity situations. You will use your calm and reassuring manner to diffuse stressful situations wherever possible.
- You should deal with every patient that you interact with, as well as their friends and family members, with sensitivity and understanding.
- Highly organised and strong attention to detail. This is essential for completing patients’ charts and medical records, administering their medications, and organising your appointment schedules.
- You should be able to work well with others, as mental health nurses often work as part of larger, multidisciplinary teams and teamwork is essential to success within this position.
- You will need a good level of computer literacy and should be able to carry out any required tasks on both a computer and a hand-held device.
On a more practical note, you will also need to pass enhanced DBS checks in order to work with vulnerable people, and if you are working within the community rather than in a hospital setting, you may also need to hold a full driver’s licence.
What a Mental Health Nurse Does
As a mental health nurse, the day-to-day duties of your role will involve:
- Providing unique support tailored to each of your patients. Whilst some patients might need your support in taking their medications, others will need support to access the therapy they need or advice on attending social events in public settings. For this reason, the role of the mental health nurse is an incredibly versatile one.
- Building relationships not only with your patients but also with their families and other caregivers. By building these trusting relationships, you will be better placed to fully understand the specific needs of your patients.
- Working either in a hospital setting, clinical setting, or sometimes within the patient’s own home, you will assess patients and create clear reports about their needs and their progress.
- Identify when patients are at risk and may need extra support. Your role will also involve responding quickly to those patients who are in danger or distress and will require urgent treatment or care.
- Conduct therapy sessions for patients: these can either be group sessions or individual sessions. Often, they will involve taking part in creative activities such as art, drama, role play or discussion groups, and these activities can be incredibly beneficial in helping patients to engage with others in a safe environment.
- If a patient under your care is too unwell, or too elderly, to care for themselves then your role may involve providing personal care when it is needed.
- You will give medication, keeping a clear record of when each dose is given and monitoring the effects of that medication. You will also record any adverse or unexpected reactions.
- Creating and updating records will also form a regular and integral part of your role.

How Much Does a Mental Health Nurse Earn?
As a mental health nurse, you can work either in the NHS or within private practice, although the vast majority of mental health workers in the UK work for the NHS. Within the private sector, pay and benefits can vary wildly from company to company, making it difficult to calculate your earning potential. Salaries are considerably more transparent within the NHS.
As an NHS mental health nurse, you will typically start in bracket five of the NHS Agenda for Change (AFC) pay system. If you assume team lead roles within your department, you could progress to bracket six or bracket seven of this system. The earning potential of these brackets would be:
If you are working at Band 6 level and have less than two years of experience within the role, then your salary will be £25,655. With two to five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £27,780. With more than five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £31,534.
If you are working at Band 6 level and have less than two years of experience within the role, then your salary will be £32,306. With two to five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £34,172. With more than five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £39,027.
If you are working at Band 7 level and have less than two years of experience within the role, then your salary will be £40,057. With two to five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £42,121. With more than five years’ experience in the role, your salary will be £45,839.
Because mental health nurses are in such high demand, if you do choose to pursue this career path then you could be eligible for a bursary of at least £6,000 a year towards your studies while you’re at university studying mental health nursing qualifications. Your personal circumstances may mean you could receive more. As this is a bursary, rather than a loan, you’ll never have to pay it back, making this a great course choice if you’re looking to work in a caring profession and you want your studies to be affordable.
Qualifications Needed for a Mental Health Nurse
The main route to becoming a mental health nurse is to study mental health nursing at university. The entry requirements for a mental health degree course will vary from university to university, but you can expect to be required to have a minimum of five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above, and two A levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications for an undergraduate degree. Some universities may ask for three A levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications for an undergraduate degree. Some may also require that your eligible GCSE and A-levels be in subjects such as English Language or Science: you should look directly on the website of the university you wish to apply to in order to better understand what their entry criteria are.
If you already hold an undergraduate degree in a related subject, including but not limited to, psychology, life sciences, social work or another health-related subject then you can join a mental health nursing degree programme in the second year, effectively shortening your qualification time down by a year.
If you don’t feel that attending university is the right path for you, but you’re still keen to become a mental health route then there are routes to the role via apprenticeships. To be eligible for an apprenticeship, you should usually secure a healthcare role within a hospital or clinical setting or be able to demonstrate that you have extensive work experience within one of these settings. You can also train to become a mental health nurse via the armed forces.
Vocational courses that may be beneficial to your application, if you are considering becoming a mental health nurse via apprenticeship, or if you want to add a healthcare focus to your CV or to your university application, include:
CACHE Level 2 Certificate in preparing to work in adult social care
CACHE Level 2 Certificate in infection control in healthcare settings
CACHE Level 3 Award in supporting individuals with learning disabilities
On-the-Job Training
Whilst many people choose to work as general mental health nurses, once you are fully qualified you could choose to undertake on-the-job training and specialise in the focus of your mental health career. There is a wide range of opportunities available to you, meaning that it is easy to find the field that best suits your interests and your personality. If you would like to use your skills to enrich the lives of children, for example, you would specialise in children and adolescent mental health nursing. Alternatively, you may prefer to focus on working only with women, or as a geriatric mental health nurse making the end-of-life stage of care as comfortable and enjoyable as possible for your patients. Other specialisms include transcultural psychiatry (which is a field that focuses on how mental disorders and their treatment can be influenced by cultural and ethnic factors.) Alternatively, if you’re looking for greater responsibility, then you may want to work or move into management, teaching or clinical research within the field.
Professional Bodies
To work as a mental health nurse you’ll need to be registered with the nursing and midwifery council (NMC), so it is essential that you join this professional body as soon as possible. The NMC is an incredibly important body as they control your right to practice your profession in the UK. Your membership to the body must be renewed every three years to ensure your licence to practice is up to date. To be eligible to have your licence renewed, you will need to complete at least 450 hours of registered practise and 35 hours of continuing professional development (CPD), which must include 20 hours of participatory learning, during the three years since your membership was last activated.