ABSTRACT
Histories of the management of madness typically devote little attention to the role of mental nursing, usually concentrating upon the development of policy and the practices of mental medicine; though Carpenter’s (1985) history of the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) (once the main trade union of mental nurses) and Nolan’s (1993) history of mental nursing are notable exceptions. This chapter is thus, in part, an attempt to make mental nursing more visible by highlighting its roles in the development of crisis services in the post-Second World War period. Firstly, we offer an account of how mental nursing transformed its care practices within a changing British asylum system, shifting the focus of work into the community. Secondly, we consider how community psychiatric nursing became a distinct sub-specialism of mental nursing and how community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) developed their role and function. Particular consideration will be given to the major influence that Caplan’s (1964) model of preventive psychiatry and crisis theory have had upon the development of CPNs’ practice.
