Accordingly in Mental Health Nursing: An Evidence-based Approach, we have taken the view that the evidence-based care movement, in general, is currently the best option we have in enriching our understanding and treatment of mental health problems. We recognize that there are limitations, particularly in an area of health care which is so much concerned with perceptions, but argue that many of these limitations are consequences of two issues. On the one hand, the current extent of evidence in mental health care is very variable, as will be seen from our comments later in this chapter. On the other hand, our ability to integrate findings from different sources (e.g. RCTs, patient testimony, carers’experiences) collected in ways which spring from different research traditions is currently rudimentary. Thus, the question of what weight to give, for example, to patient opinions (as gleaned from qualitative studies) about unpopular but effective treatments (as gleaned from RCTs) is difficult to answer, both on methodological grounds (qualitative studies rarely account adequateiy for interviewer bias or subjectivity of analysis, while the samples and treatment regimens in RCTs are rarely similar to those in everyday treatment settings) and on ethical grounds (should we impose treatments we know to be effective on unwilling patient; should we withhold such treatments from people who are likely to benefit).