Book excerpt: The Collaborative Partnership Approach to Care: A Delicate Balance, 1e, brings together the insights and discoveries by expert clinicians and teachers who use a collaborative approach to care. The primary focus of this book is on the relationships between professionals and the people they care for -- not just between professionals. Based on the "McGill Model of Nursing", the authors stress the value of working in collaboration with the client, family, or community. Written for nursing students of all levels, it also will be of interest to health care and mental health professionals. Uses a variety of formats to present ideas about collaboration. Describes ideas about collaboration from the perspective of expert clinicians who have been using collaboration as their approach to nursing care. Integrates quotes from interviews with expert clinicians to illustrate ideas about collaboration. Uses examples from clinical practice to help the reader understand how these theoretical ideas are translated into practice. Describes ideas used in teaching students about collaboration. Raises questions that can guide further research in this area.