Book excerpt: Medicines are a crucial part of the jigsaw when considering how to provide recovery-focussed care in mental health. It is important that mental health nurses understand how psychiatric drugs work, what the common treatments are and appreciate the ethical and legal dimensions that affect how medicines can and should be used in mental health care. Using innovative activities and real-life case studies, this book has been carefully designed to provide all this and more making it the ideal resource to build knowledge and confidence in this crucial area of practice. Key features · Clear explanations of both the underlying biology and pharmacology as well as the wider practicalities of working with medicines · Provides accessible information on the most common conditions and treatments · Linked to the NMC standards and essential skills clusters · Activities and case studies help students to apply what they have learnt to practice and consider the full impact that medicines will have on service users