Phil Barker never ceases to inspire and to challenge, and in this book he excels. He takes you through different forms of assessment and manages to put the patient / client first in all of them (which is very rare in books which cover assessment). Even after 20 odd years of nursing when I first read this it challenged me and helped change some of my ideas and unlike many other mental health texts you can read it more than one time and think to yourself I have discovered more. This alongside his psychiatric - mental health nursing are essential for learners and qualified staff alike.