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Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health
mental health assessment over the phone health occupational therapy assessments for mental Health typically include a physical exam, to rule out physical ailments. This may include blood tests, urine tests or brain scans.
Psychologists also use a wide range of tools to evaluate mental health. These tools can range from paper and pencil test forms to in depth interviews or self-completed postal questionnaires.
Mood and affect
The doctor will first observe the patient's mood and affect. They define a patient's general emotional tone. This could range from happiness to sorrow or anger and irritability. The effect can be analyzed through facial expressions, general demeanor and the reaction to internal or external stimuli. You can express your emotions by smiling at the joke or crying when you lose a loved one.
Affect is a feeling that is temporary, while mood is a long-lasting emotion. It is usually described as being either euthymic (normal) or dysphoric, meaning depressed. However, psychiatric professionals must be careful not to misunderstand the terms because they have different definitions and are affected by a variety of factors.
While the MSE is a valuable diagnostic tool but it isn't always easy to interpret based on a subjective patient reports. Asking patients about their feelings over the past few weeks is more helpful than relying on just observations from a physician. A recent study showed that a significant percentage of symptoms, including those grouped together under the same disorder category, vary between assessment tools. This can be due to the different emphasis placed on emotional, cognitive or physical symptoms, as along with differences in duration and frequency of symptom reporting.
It is also possible that the MSE is based on self-reporting which could be susceptible to bias. Patients who report both anxiety and a headache is likely to report lower scores than one who reports only headache. Additionally, there is an inclination for patients to minimize negative feelings and overestimate the severity of positive emotions.
Affect and mood can have a direct impact on the content of thought. This can impact the way people make decisions, their interpersonal behavior and physical function. They can be affected by stress, fatigue, social interactions, world events, hormones and the weather. In actual fact positive moods have been proven to increase the ability to think and be creative. A negative mood can cause confusion and reduce concentration. Therefore, a careful and thorough mental health assessment needs to take into account the patient's mood and affect as well as their underlying factors.
Thought content
One of the most essential aspects of a mental state examination is assessing how the patient thinks. Evaluation of thought process and content. The thought process is the coherence, logic and structure of a patient’s thoughts. Normal thought processes are logical and focused on goals. Thought processing can be distorted when a person suffers from mental health issues. Examples include hallucinations, delusions and loose associations.
A mental health assessment also examines judgment and insight. Insight is being able to spot a problem. Judgment is the capability to make a well-considered choice after receiving information. Both can be impaired in many mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and depression. If a patient is impaired in judgment and/or insight in any way, they are at greater risk of harming themselves or others. If they are in danger, their sensible judgement would suggest leaving the home immediately. However, someone with impaired judgment might decide to stay in the building and trying to put out the fire.
Thought content is the subject matter, themes and beliefs that a patient has. Typically, examiners discuss the clarity, relatedness and quality of a patient's thought. They will take note of any thoughts that are tangential or circumstantial or thoughts, and also if the patient is prone to having a flurry of thoughts (digressions from the subject of conversation). They will also make comments on the pace of a person's thoughts, such as whether they seem fast or slow.
It is also crucial to determine if the patient's mood is in line with their environment. For instance, a person who is depressed may hear voices that sound aggressive and threatening, whereas those suffering from schizophrenia may have a hallucination of a calm and soothing voice. Ask the patient if they've had any suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Although these are rare, they can be life-threatening and should be taken into consideration during every mental health assessment.
Observation
The nurse's ability to watch is vital in a mental assessment. They will conduct a thorough examination of behavior, appearance as well as any unusual beliefs or perceptions (such as hallucinations or delusions), mood, and aspects of cognition (including attention, orientation, memory). The mental health capacity assessment status exam for nurses is also a way of the observation of the movement. This is any physical activity, like eating, drinking, or brushing teeth.
The Observation element of the mental health examination is a key component of determining whether or not the patient is posing the risk to themselves or others. This is determined by assessing whether the patient appears to be moving in a way that suggests that they are about to harm themselves or someone else.
A thorough assessment of the thought content is also accomplished by observing the patient during the interview and determining the preoccupations. It is important to check whether the patient is suffering from suicidal, homicidal or delusional thoughts.
Global assessment of functioning (GAF) which is an assessment of functioning in numerical form, ranging from 0 to 100, evaluates the ability of an individual to perform in everyday life along with their capacity for managing stressors. The GAF is a crucial component of the mental health examination and aids in making treatment decisions.
It is crucial to realize that observing the behaviour of a patient could cause distress. It is therefore important that the process be conducted in a manner that does not cause discomfort or make the patient feel uncomfortable. It is important that the patient is fully informed of the purpose of the observations and the length of the process.
Nursing observation is an essential skill and it must be a key part of the nursing process. It is essential to remember that patients may disagree about the extent of observation. If they cannot come to an agreement with staff members, they should be able to access an advocate service that can represent their interests and aid them in any discussions about their care. This should be a component of local policy and practice, with the participation and the support of groups of users.
Questioning
Many people have a hard to talk about their mental health issues however, family members will often be able to recognize the signs of something being wrong. They can also assist the person get an assessment. These assessments can be conducted on a variety of subjects that include mood, appearance and thought process. A mental health professional could also ask questions about the person's personal life. They'll ask them what they've been feeling and what's happened recently.
The assessment also includes a cognitive test that focuses on the person's ability to think clearly and retain information. The test taker may be asked to complete a few basic tasks, like focusing their attention on an alphabet of words or objects 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 their judgment. The test determines a person's insight which is their understanding of their illness and how it affects them.
The attitude of the patient toward others, himself and the illness is also an important aspect of a mental evaluation. The tone of voice, facial expression, and the body expressions of a patient could convey anger, depression, or a feeling of utter powerlessness. It is important to check whether the patient appears be seeking help or accepting their situation.
In more serious instances the gas assessment mental health of mental health may include a thorough examination of the patient's thoughts, which may involve illusions or hallucinations. These conditions can be extremely dangerous and even fatal.
A mental health assessment must be holistic and examine the person's interaction with their social world. A health professional might use images, music, art or a range of assessment tools that are electronic to better understand the person and their unique perspective on the world around them. They should also discuss the issues that led to the person to seek help, and assure them there is nothing wrong in seeing an expert in mental health.