Compare two mental health theories nursing essay guide
A 2-3 page double-spaced essay describing two mental health theories, including some history of the person who developed each and the theory's major ideas and applications, then comparing and contrasting them, stating how each could be used in your nursing practice with patient examples, and optionally critiquing either.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 12, 2026
Why does the brief ask about the theorists themselves?
One requirement in this brief is unusual and it is easy to read past: include some history about the person who developed the theory. Most theory papers describe the theory and skip its author entirely, and here that would drop a graded element. It is also more useful than it sounds. Theories of mental health were shaped by their developers' circumstances in ways that explain their emphases — a theory built from work with hospitalised patients looks different from one built in private practice with articulate voluntary clients, and one developed by a nurse looks different again from one developed by a psychiatrist or an academic psychologist. A sentence or two on who the person was and what population they were working with usually explains the theory's blind spot better than any critique written from outside it, and it sets up the optional critique paragraph at no extra cost.
The application requirement is the one that separates a description from an essay: how each theory could be used in your nursing practice, with specific patient examples if you have them. That phrasing rewards concreteness, and it is where a marker looks to see whether the theory was understood or merely read. Not "Peplau's theory highlights the importance of the nurse-patient relationship", which is a summary, but what you would do differently on a specific shift with a specific patient because of it — how you would open a first conversation, what you would notice about a patient's response, what you would document afterwards. The invitation to use real patient examples means the application can be evidenced rather than asserted, and if you use one, de-identify it properly: not just the name, but the dates, the unit, and any combination of details that would let a colleague work out who you meant.
The critique is optional and worth taking. "You may also critique the theory: is there anything with which you disagree or are there any problems you can identify?" is an opening for the most interesting paragraph in the paper, and optional elements are usually where the marks separating a good essay from an adequate one live. Useful critiques of mental health theories are specific rather than dismissive: a theory whose evidence base is a single clinician's case series, one that assumes a level of insight not all patients have, one that was developed in a cultural context different from your patients'. Pick the two theories with all of this in mind before you start writing. Two that share a lineage will produce a thin contrast and a dull critique; two that genuinely disagree about what causes distress will give you something to say in every section of the essay.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Relate a theory's emphases to the circumstances in which it was developed.
- 02Translate a theoretical claim into a specific nursing action.
- 03Select two theories that disagree enough to make a contrast possible.
- 04Critique a theory on specific grounds rather than dismissively.
- 05De-identify a real patient example beyond the name.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. Compare And Contrast Two Mental Health Theories The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Compare And Contrast Two Mental Health Theories
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A 2-3 page double-spaced essay, excluding the title page, with an introduction and conclusion.
- 02A description of each of two mental health theories, including some history about the person who developed it and the theory's major ideas and applications.
- 03The ways the two theories are similar and how they differ.
- 04A statement of how each theory could be used in your nursing practice, with specific patient examples if available.
- 05Optionally, a critique of either theory.
- 06Proper APA citations for any source material used, including the course text.
Describe, compare, apply — then take the optional critique
Choose two that disagree
Pick theories that differ on what causes distress or on where change comes from, not two from one tradition.
Theory one: person, ideas, applications
Who developed it and in what setting, the major concepts, and where it is used.
Theory two: person, ideas, applications
The same treatment, kept parallel so the comparison is easy to read.
Similarities and differences
Where the two agree about the person and the problem, and where they part company.
Use in your practice
For each theory, one concrete thing you would do differently, with a patient example if you have one.
The optional critique
One specific problem with one theory — its evidence base, its assumptions about insight, its cultural context.
Where mental health theory and its evidence base are documented
Recommended databases
- NCBI Bookshelf
- NIMH
- PubMed
- Course text
Search sequence
- 1.Choose the pair first, on the basis of what they disagree about.
- 2.Look up each developer's professional context, which is what the history requirement is asking for.
- 3.Search for contemporary applications of each theory so the applications section is current rather than historical.
- 4.Find one methodological or cultural critique before writing the optional paragraph.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Major Depressive Disorder
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
A current clinical account against which a theory's explanatory claims can be checked, which is the most defensible basis for a critique.
- 02
Terminating the Therapeutic Relationship
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
The therapeutic relationship as a clinical structure — useful for the application section if either theory places the relationship at its centre.
- 03
Stages of Change Theory
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
A worked example of a theory described with its origins, applications and documented limitations — the shape this essay is asked to produce twice.
- 04
Cultural Religious Competence in Clinical Practice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Grounding for a cultural-context critique, which is usually the strongest available criticism of a mid-century mental health theory.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Omitting the history of the theorists, which is a stated requirement.
- Writing the application section as a restatement of the theory's principles.
- Choosing two theories from the same tradition, which leaves nothing to contrast.
- Declining the optional critique, which is where the strongest paragraph usually is.
- Offering a critique that amounts to the theory being old.
- Using a real patient example de-identified by name only.
Submission checklist
- Both theories are described with their major ideas and applications.
- Each includes some history of the person who developed it.
- Similarities and differences are both addressed.
- The application section names specific nursing actions, not principles.
- Any patient example is de-identified past the name.
- If a critique is offered, it rests on a specific ground.
- An introduction and conclusion frame the essay, with APA citations throughout.
- Two to three pages, double-spaced, excluding the title page.
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.