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Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health
Mental health assessments often include a physical exam to rule out physical ailments. This could involve blood tests, urine tests or brain scans.
Psychologists also employ a array of tools to measure mental health. These range from tests that are written on paper and pen to in-depth interviews, or self-complete questionnaires for postal delivery.
Affect and mood
Mood and affect are among the most important components of the mental health examination (MSE) and are the first thing to be viewed by the doctor. They are the most accurate indicators of a patient's emotional tone. This can range from happiness to sorrow or irritability and anger. The effect can be analyzed by facial expressions, overall demeanor and the response to external or internal stimuli. You can express your emotions by smiling at a joke, or crying when you lose a loved one.
Affect is an emotion that is temporary, whereas mood is a state of constant emotion. It is usually described as euthymic, or dysphoric, or normal (meaning depressed). However, psychiatric specialists should be cautious not to mix the two as they have varying definitions and are influenced by a variety of factors.
The MSE can be a useful instrument for diagnosing clinical conditions however, it can be difficult to interpret based on a subjective patient report. It is therefore helpful to ask patients how they have felt over the past few weeks, rather than relying on physician observation only. Recent research showed that the assessment tools were different in their ability to identify a significant part of symptoms. This included those that were classified under the same disorder. This could be due to the different emphasis on emotional or cognitive symptoms, and also the differences between the time intervals and frequency of the reporting of symptoms.
It is also possible that the MSE is based on self-reporting, which may be prone to bias. For instance, a patient who describes experiencing anxiety and a headache will likely have an lower score than a person who describes only a headache. In addition, there is a tendency for patients to minimize negative feelings and overestimate the severity of positive feelings.
The mood and the affect of a person can have an impact on thought content. This could affect the way people make decisions, their interpersonal behavior and physical functioning. see this page can be influenced by fatigue, stress, social interactions, world events, hormones and even the weather. In reality positive moods have been proven to increase thinking and creativity. A negative mood can decrease concentration and cause confusion. Therefore, a careful and thorough mental health assessment is required to take into account the patient's mood and emotional state as well as the underlying causes.
Thought content
Examining the way a patient thinks is among the most important aspects of a mental health examination. Assessment of thought process and content. The thought process is the coherence, logic, and organization of a patient's thoughts. Normal thought processes are logical and focused on a goal. In a variety of mental health conditions, however, thought processing is altered. Examples include hallucinations, delusions and loose associations.
Insight and judgement are also evaluated during a mental status exam. Insight is the ability to recognize a problem. Judgment is the ability to make a rational decision after receiving information. Both are impaired in many mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and depression. If a patient suffers from impaired insight and/or judgement, they are at a higher chance of harming themselves or others. For instance, if they are in danger of destroying their home the sensible judgment would tell that they should leave the premises immediately. However, a patient with impaired judgment might decide to stay in the building and attempting to put the fire out.
The thoughts of a patient includes their subject matter, themes and beliefs. Generally, examiners comment on the clarity, relevance and the content of a patient's thinking. They will also note any tangential or circumstantial thoughts or thoughts, and also if the patient has flights of thoughts (digressions from the subject of conversation). They will also comment on the speed of a person's thoughts, such as whether they seem to be fast or slow.
It is also essential to determine whether the patient's mood is in line with their surroundings. For example, a patient who is depressed could hear voices that are hostile and frightening, whereas those suffering from schizophrenia may experience a hallucination of an ethereal and calm voice. Ask the patient if they've had any suicidal or homicidal ideas. Although they are uncommon, they can be life threatening and should be taken into consideration during every mental health assessment.
Watching
The ability of nurses to observe is essential in an assessment of mental health. They include a careful examination of appearance, behavior and any unusual beliefs or perceptions (such hallucinations or delusions), mood, and cognition (including attention, memory and orientation). The mental status exam for nurses is also a way of monitoring motility. This includes any physical movement like eating, drinking, or brushing teeth.
The Observation component of the mental health examination is vital in determining if the patient is a danger to them or anyone else. This is done by assessing whether or not the patient is moving deliberately in a way that suggests they may be threatening to harm themselves or someone else.
In addition, a detailed assessment of the content of thoughts is conducted by observing the patient throughout the interview and determining their main concerns. It is essential to determine whether the patient has suicidal, homicidal, or delusional thoughts.
Global assessment of functioning (GAF) is an assessment of functioning in numerical form, ranging between 0 and 100, combines the ability of an individual to function in daily life with their ability of dealing with stressors. The GAF is a vital part of the mental status examination and helps to guide treatment decisions.
It is important to understand that observing the behaviour of a patient can cause anxiety. Therefore, it is essential that the procedure is conducted in a way that does not cause discomfort or cause discomfort. It is essential that the patient is informed of the purpose of the observations and the length of the process.
Nursing observation is an important skill and it must be a key element of the nursing process. It is essential to remember that patients might disagree on the level of observation. If they are unable to reach an agreement with the staff, they should be able to use an advocate service to represent their interests and assist them in any discussions regarding their care. This should be part of the local policy and practice, with the involvement and the support of user groups.
Questioning
Many people are reluctant to discuss their mental health issues, but family members are often able to detect if something is not right. They can also help the person get an assessment. These assessments are broad and cover a variety of subjects such as mood, appearance and memory, thinking process and many more. A mental health professional may also ask questions about the person's private life. They will ask them what they feel and what's happened recently.
The test includes a cognitive evaluation that examines a person's ability to think clearly and remember information. The test subject may ask to complete basic tasks, like focusing their attention on the list of objects or words and recollecting lists of basic information or solving math problems. The test may also test the person's ability to make informed decisions and use judgment. The test also evaluates the patient's insight and level of understanding about their illness and its impact on them.
Another vital aspect of an assessment of mental health is the patient's attitude towards other people, himself and the illness. The tone of voice, the facial expression, and the body expressions of a patient could indicate depression, anger or a sense of helplessness. It is also important to know whether the patient appears to be seeking help or just living with their illness.
In more serious situations the mental health assessment could include a thorough assessment of the patient's thinking that may include hallucinations (false perceptions of sensory stimuli that are not real stimuli) or illusions (misperceptions of real stimuli). These conditions can be dangerous and even deadly.
In general an assessment of mental health must be holistic and consider the person's relationship to their social environment. A health professional may use images, music, or art, or any other assessment tool to better understand the person. They should also talk about the difficulties that prompted the person to seek help, and reassure that there is nothing wrong with seeing an expert in mental health.
Read More: https://telehealthvictoria.org.au/discussion-and-networking/members/artounce8/activity/67527/
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