Patient teaching continues to remain an important role of today's nurses especially due to the trend of shortened hospital stays for patients. Nurse faculty members are challenged to implement useful teaching approaches to develop students for this vital teaching role. Faculty members teaching psychiatric-mental health nursing to second semester juniors or first semester senior nursing students have found that using long term clinical sites facilitates implementation of the Collaborative Integrative Partnership Model. The collaborative model emphasizes a relational teaching approach which builds on Prochaska's motivational change theory. Students work with individual clients as well as client groups establishing mutual learning contracts. Relational teaching creates a climate in which students and clients are both teachers and learners engaged in an active process. Strategies implemented by faculty to develop the teaching role of students include: helping students identify clients' readiness and goals for learning; promoting advocacy work among students and clients; and designing projects and scholarly assignments. Outcomes of this collaborative relational model help students refine their philosophy of teaching and view clients as valuable teachers.