Martin Ward looks at how nurses are responding to increasing demands from users for genuine involvement in their care

As in many specialties, the pressures on mental health professionals are increasing rapidly. The growing demands by user and carer groups for genuine involvement in care activities mean that mental health professionals must not only listen to patients and interpret their concerns and needs correctly, but they must also learn to listen to each other. There is little point in identifying patients' complex problems, if the networks necessary for their resolution are not in place.