Publish date: 20 February 2026
Today is World Mental Health Nurses Day. We’re taking a moment to recognise the skill, professionalism and dedication of our mental health nurses and to share, in their own words, what motivates them and what their role truly means.
From building trusting relationships to supporting people through their most difficult moments, their reflections highlight the impact mental health nursing makes every day.
Bertha Matunge, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer
I’m motivated by my why….the reason I became a mental health nurse. Having lived with a loved one who became unwell to me every patient is my uncle, every carer is my grandmother and every nurse is who could have made a difference to my uncle’s life if they had had a mental health nurse.
My daily challenge is what can I do to enhance the experience of the nurses I work with, the people who use our services and their loved ones.
Karl Collins, Service Manager, Older adults
The most rewarding thing about working in mental health nursing is having the opportunity to build therapeutic, trusting relationships with patients. Nursing patients involves not just clinical care but also understanding family dynamics, social, emotional and psychological dimensions of each patient. Patient success stories motivate me to continue even on those difficult days.
Seeing the long-term positive outcomes in patients’ lives is rewarding and continues to fuel my passion for nursing.
Selina Pun Associate Practice Development Clinician (Clinical Risk)
What I find most rewarding is when patients later remember how they were cared for during a time when they were extremely unwell. Knowing that they felt respected, supported, and safe even when they may not have fully understood everything at the time is incredibly meaningful to me.
Every day in mental health nursing is different. People often don’t realise how many roles we take on, we’re not just nurses. We’re advocates, decision-makers, supporters, and sometimes the person who speaks up when someone can’t. It’s a role that requires compassion, resilience, and constant adaptability.
Belinda Manyumbu, Service Manager (Hounslow) – Specialist & Community Liaison
What I find most rewarding about mental health nursing is seeing change happen in real time. Sometimes it’s not a big breakthrough — it’s a patient sharing something they’ve been holding in, and you can see the relief when they realise they’ve been genuinely heard. When someone feels understood, it shifts something. It lightens the load. And that’s often where real progress begins.
Empathy and compassion aren’t just nice qualities — they are clinical tools. We use ourselves, intentionally and professionally, to help people feel safe, shift perspectives, and move their lives forward.
What motivates me, even on difficult days, is the difference this work makes. The lives we touch. The moments where someone feels a little safer, a little more hopeful, or supported enough to keep going. If we can be that steady presence when things feel dark, that’s what stays with me.
Joseph Campling, Neuromodulation Lead Nurse/ Manager
I am always learning. Even though I started as a student in 1984, I come across new challenges daily. I am questioning what I know against new knowledge. I reflect on the people whose lives I have saved or made better through my career and also the team I work with to bounce this off.
We are often the ones who make the difference by thinking of the whole person who may be in despair. We often drive the processes to save people's lives and give hope to move on in life. We work with families as well as the patients in our care to create the plan which is a negotiation between equals.
Emma Brown, Borough lead nurse Hounslow
Mental health nurses lead with empathy and compassion every day. We work hard to see the person, not just the illness, and to treat people with dignity and respect.
A lot of my role is about supporting staff to work with compassion, even under pressure. Creating a culture where kindness and safety come first is just as important as clinical care.
On difficult days, it’s the belief that kindness truly matters. Knowing that compassion can help someone feel heard, safe, or less alone is what keeps me going.
Katie Brady, Retention and Support Manager Broadmoor
Being a small part of someone's recovery journey and helping support patients to move on in their care pathways and their lives is what I find most rewarding. Sometimes, we are the first contact patients have ever had with mental health services, and the difference that can be made even on Day 1 by offering patients a cup of tea and the opportunity to have someone to talk to and listen to them is huge.
You need a healthy level of resilience to work in mental health nursing, and it can be challenging; however, it also a highly rewarding career and I can't imagine doing anything else. Inpatient mental health nursing is a team sport and I have been very lucky to work with some incredible colleagues over the years, and they have always helped me get through the toughest of days.
Monika Sabharwal, Associate Practice Development & Innovation Nurse
I love making a difference to people’s lives and education. Its meaningful role. Each difficult experience is an opportunity to work on oneself and learn from it.
Jimmy Garber, Practice Development Nurse
Mental health nurses today are under extreme pressures unlike before but practically all are passionate about people and love their job. I am motivated by the passion, care and empathy I see in colleagues for people and communities in need and I find working in teams to collectively support people and communities in their times of needs extremely rewarding.
Sana Rashid, Clinical Team Leader, Broadmoor Hospital
Mental health nurses provide care behind the scenes, guiding patients in ways that aren’t always visible. We face challenges ourselves but remain committed to making a real difference. Working with patients through complex and unpredictable situations requires patience, resilience, and consistency. It’s equally important to look after team members, as mental health challenges can affect us all.