Mental Health Toolkit

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance use and mental illness on America's communities.

The NIMH's mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Educate, Advocate, Listen, and Lead.

Stephen Illardi, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Department of Psychology.

Several videos are embedded in this site, including Dr. Illardi explaining the elements of the TLC program during a TED Talk. Additionally, each component of the plan has a short video on the “TLC elements” tab.

There is a focus on nursing problems, not nursing diagnoses, as this may help students prioritize patient needs and promote clinical reasoning. Various types of activities are included in this text to increase both short-term information processing and remote recall for applicational needs.

Mental health and community health concepts are discussed while emphasizing stress management techniques, healthy coping strategies, referrals to community resources, and other preventative interventions. Nursing care for individuals with specific mental health and substance use disorders is examined, and the nurse’s role in community health needs assessments and caring for vulnerable populations is introduced.