Nursing, or caring for the sick, has existed since the beginning of civilization. Before 1860 nursing care for those with emotional problems was mainly custodial; it focused on the patients’ physical needs, such as medications, nutrition, hygiene, and ward activities. Psychiatric nurses had limited training in psychiatry, and they mostly applied the principles of medical-surgical nursing to the psychiatric setting. Psychological care consisted of kindness and tolerance toward the patients. Nursing as a profession began to emerge in the late nineteenth century, and by the twentieth century it had evolved into a specialty with unique roles and functions (Bowling, 2003) (Table 1-1).