Nursing in general has been seen as problem orientated rather than solution focused (McAllister 2003). The process of determining the mental status of the patient involves the elicitation of symptoms that are often deficits or problems (Jacob 2003), so it is not surprising that problem identification is part of the practice of mental health nursing assessment. However, the need for mental health to be delivered in a way that is strengths based, recovery orientated and in a collaborative manner is being called for by patients (Piat et al. 2009) and clinicians alike (Castle & Gilbert 2006; Lester et al. 2006). While there have been efforts in psychiatry to adopt a collaborative, recovery orientated, strengths-based approach to assessment (Chopra et al. 2009), which patients find more satisfying (Björkman et al. 2002), this has been proven challenging in mental health (Deane et al.2006).