Abstract: The ICN International classification for nursing practice project.Terms used by Community-based Mental Health Nurses to describe their practice.In December 1995 a team of advisors from throughout the Asia and pacific region gathered in Taipei, Republic of China, for the International Council of Nurses (ICN) International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) project. During the week long workshop the early draft Classification architecture was presented and exercises were undertaken to test the relevance and accuracy of selected Terms and associated characteristics from the classification. The team of Consultants, who have been working on the Classification since 1990, identified that the most underdeveloped aspects of the hierarchy were community health and mental health nursing. They encouraged the team of Advisors to conduct research with nurses to add to these areas of the Classification in particular.The purpose of the ICP is to make nursing visible through an internationally accepted language which represents nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. The classification is sponsored by ICN and follows a format similar to the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD) which is used extensively throughout the world to statistically record work completed by medical practitioners.The research undertaken at Lakeland Health with five Community-based Mental Health Nurses used the retrospective method of nursing diagnosis validation tool and field exercise method provided by the ICNP Consultant team. These were underpinned by participatory action research methodology. Over four sessions the participants identified six Terms and then field tested each to assess the relevance of that Term in practice. At the weekly sessions the participants shared their reflections on the validity of each Term and discussed other outcomes resulting from their involvement in the research process.The research report outlines the ICNP project and associated literature, explains the research methodology, identifies the resulting Terms and characteristics ready for submission to the ICNP Consultant team and examines outcomes from involvement in the participatory process