Mental and physical health work together to support well-being, and never more importantly than when a patient experiences a sudden and devastating trauma. This article explores the interplay of mental and physical health in the context of acid attack burns to someone’s face. It explains trauma in event terms and how an understanding of types of psychological trauma can be drawn on to advance collaborative nursing practice in a burns unit. While nurses have been educated in separate disciplines, it is argued that working across the traditional divide can be advantageous in trauma situations. This is the second article in a series on ‘well-being, physical and mental health’.