Can counselling take place in acute clinical mental health?

The environment in which acute clinical psychiatric nursing occurs actively militates against the possibility of 'counselling' taking place at a ward level. However, a proportion of mental health nurses working in this area continue to describe themselves as counsellors thus perpetuating a cycle of misconception. This article examines the reality of acute psychiatric service provision in an attempt to highlight that mental health nurses engaging with patient groups in this arena are actually demonstrating 'counselling skills practice'.