Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra
Master's Degree in Mental Health Nursing and Psychiatry
Coimbra, Portugal
Master degree
DURATION
4 semesters
LANGUAGES
Portuguese
PACE
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2026
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Master's Degree in Mental Health Nursing and Psychiatry
Mental health and related problems are one of the most sensitive areas of people's health. In fact, mental health problems constitute 13% of the global burden of diseases (WHO, 2001) and that 5 out of 10 of the causes that lead to disability are mental health problems (WHO, 2003). Considering that the scale of mental health problems of populations has a major impact on individual suffering, social exclusion phenomena and the direct or indirect costs of mental illness (WHO, 2003), the need for Nursing in this area is widely recognized either by European Union bodies (2004) or by international bodies, such as the WHO, which in 2003 proposed a curriculum for specialized training in mental health nursing, after the general education.
The definition of a competency profile of nurse specialist in Mental and Psychiatric Health Nursing is already a reality in many countries. In Portugal, the Order of Nurses carried out a study that validated a competency profile of the general care nurse. At the same time, some studies and debates about the specific competences of the mental and psychiatric health nurses were carried out, which allows to construct a theoretical reference guide for this definition.
In this context, for the profile of the specialist, graduated at the masters level, we will adopt a definition that includes the set of skills, abilities, skills, general and specialized knowledge, domain of the set of techniques and procedures in the scope of specialized nursing, evaluated in test situation or in the performance of the activities that characterize the professional exercise.
The definition of a competency profile of nurse specialist in Mental Health and Psychiatry Nursing is already a reality in many countries. In Portugal, the nurses' order carried out a study that validated a competency profile of the general care nurse. At the same time, some studies and debates about the specific competences of the mental health and psychiatric nurses are carried out, which allows to construct a theoretical reference guide for this definition.
