Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health
Mental health assessments usually involve a physical examination, to rule out physical conditions. This may involve blood work, urine tests or brain scans.
Psychologists also utilize a range of tools to evaluate mental health. These range from tests that are written on paper and pen to in-depth interviews or self-complete postal questionnaires.
Mood and affect
Mood and affect are the most important components of the mental status examination (MSE) and are the first thing to be observed by a doctor. They define the patient's general emotional tone, which can range from joy to sadness or irritability to anger. Affect can be assessed by looking at facial expressions and manner of speaking as well as the response to external or internal stimuli (e.g. You can express your feelings by smirking at a joke, or crying when you lose a loved one.
Affect is a short-term emotion but mood is a more long-lasting emotional state. It is usually described as either euthymic (normal) or dysphoric, which translates to depressed. Professionals in psychiatry must be careful to avoid confusion between the two terms, as they are defined differently and can be affected by various factors.
The MSE is a helpful tool for clinical diagnosis however, it can be difficult to interpret based on the subjective report of a patient. It is therefore beneficial to ask patients how they have been feeling over the last few weeks, as opposed to using only the observation of a physician. Recent research showed that the assessment tools were different in their ability to detect a substantial part of symptoms. This included those that were grouped under the same disorder. This can be due to the different emphasis placed on emotional, cognitive or physical symptoms, as and also the different time periods and frequency of symptom reporting.
It is possible that the MSE relies on self-reports which is susceptible to bias. A patient who has anxiety and a headache is likely to have a lower score compared to one who reports only headache. In addition there is the tendency for patients to downplay negative emotions and underestimate the severity of positive ones.
The mood and the affect of a person can have a direct influence on the content of thought. This can impact the way people make decisions, their interpersonal behavior and physical function. They are affected by stress, fatigue and social interactions. In fact, a positive mood has been proven to increase thinking and creativity. However, a mood that is negative can reduce concentration and lead to confusion. A thorough and careful mental health evaluation must consider both the patient's mood and affect, as well as other factors.
Thought content
One of the most essential aspects of a mental state examination is to determine how the patient thinks. Particularly, it is assessing thought process and thoughts. The thought process is the coherence, logic and structure of a patient's thoughts. The normal process of thinking is focused and logical. Thought processing can be altered when a person suffers from mental health issues. Examples include delusions, hallucinations and loose associations.
A mental state examination also assesses the quality of insight and judgement. Insight is the ability to identify the presence of a problem, while judgement is the ability to make a rational decision when presented with information. Both are impaired in various mental health conditions, like schizophrenia and depression. A patient with impaired insight or judgement is more likely to hurt themselves or others. For example 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 trying to put the fire out.
Thought content refers to the topics, subjects and beliefs that a patient holds. Examiners generally comment on the clarity, connection and content of a patient's thinking. They will also note tangential thoughts or circumstantial ones, as well as if the patient has digressions (digressions off from the main topic of the conversation). They will also discuss the pace of a person's thoughts, including whether they seem to be fast or slow.
It is also essential to determine whether the patient's mood matches their surroundings. Patients suffering from depression may hear voices of anger, while a person suffering from schizophrenia may experience the illusion that a peaceful voice is speaking. A patient should also be asked about any suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Although they are uncommon but they could be life-threatening and must be considered during every mental health assessment.
Observation
Nurses' observation skills play an important role in a mental health assessment. They are a thorough review of appearance, behaviour and any strange beliefs or perceptions (such as hallucinations or delusions) mood, as well as aspects of cognition (including attention to orientation, attention memory, and orientation). A nursing mental status examination also involves observing motility, including any physical activity like eating, drinking, brushing teeth using the toilet and putting on shoes.
The observation component of the mental health exam is an essential element of determining whether the patient could pose a risk to themselves or others. This is accomplished by determining whether the patient appears be acting in a deliberate way that suggests they are planning to harming themselves or someone else.
A thorough assessment of the thought-based content is also done by monitoring the patient during the interview and determining preoccupations. It is essential to determine whether the patient has suicidal, homicidal or delusional thoughts.
Global assessment of functioning (GAF) is which is a numerical score ranging from 0 to 100, measures the capacity of a person to perform in everyday life with their ability of dealing with stressors. The GAF is a key part of the mental state examination and helps guide treatment decisions.
how to get mental health assessment is crucial to realize that observing the behaviour of a patient may cause distress. It is therefore important to conduct the procedure in a way that does not provoke or cause discomfort. It is important that the patient is aware of the goal of the observation and the duration of the process.
Nursing observation is a crucial skill that must be at the heart of any nursing program. However, it must be noted that patients might not agree with the degree of observation and if they are unable to reach an agreement with staff, then they should be able to access an advocate service which can represent their needs and help patients in any discussions about their treatment. This should be part of local policy and practice, with the participation and participation of groups of patients.
Questioning
Many people are hesitant to discuss their mental health issues, however family members can often tell when something is amiss. They can also encourage the person to take a look at an assessment. These tests can be conducted on a variety of subjects, including mood, appearance and thought process. In addition to these tests, mental health professionals will also ask the individual questions about their personal life, including what's happened recently and what their emotions have been like.
The test includes an evaluation of the cognitive capacity which focuses on an individual's ability think clearly and retain information. The test taker may be asked to complete a few basic tasks, such as focusing their attention on the list of words or objects, memorizing simple lists or solving math problems. The test can also be used to check the individual's judgment and ability to make informed choices. The test also assesses the patient's insight that reflects their
