Nursing Studies

Mental health nursing is a profession built on the ability to form therapeutic relationships with people who are experiencing some of the most difficult and distressing periods of their lives. Whether working with people affected by anxiety, depression, psychosis, personality disorders, addiction, or dementia, mental health nurses combine clinical knowledge with genuine human connection, using evidence-based interventions alongside the kind of empathetic, compassionate presence that no protocol can prescribe.

At Teesside University, this three-year full-time pre-registration programme develops the fundamental knowledge and skills that the Nursing and Midwifery Council requires of registered nurses. You will combine theory and practice across all stages of the degree, with learning aligned to the NMC proficiency standards. Alongside mixed-field theory groups that give you a rounded understanding of nursing across all four fields, you will take part in practical skills rehearsal and a series of placements that begin with role socialisation into the healthcare environment and progress through increasingly complex clinical experience.

Mental health placements give you direct experience of working with people across a range of ages and care settings, from inpatient wards and crisis services to community mental health teams and forensic settings. The typical entry tariff is 136 UCAS points.

Graduates who complete this programme are eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as mental health nurses, which opens immediate employment across the NHS, independent healthcare, and the voluntary sector. Career paths include community mental health nursing, crisis care, inpatient psychiatric nursing, forensic nursing, liaison psychiatry, and specialist roles in areas such as eating disorders, substance misuse, and child and adolescent mental health. Many nurses also go on to postgraduate study, moving into advanced clinical practice, nursing research, or management roles within mental health services.