Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health
Mental health assessments typically include a physical exam to rule out physical problems. This can include blood tests, urine tests or even brain scans.
Psychologists utilize a variety tools to assess mental health. These tools can range from paper and pencil test forms to more in-depth interviews or self-completed postal questionnaires.
Affect and mood
The doctor will first be aware of the patient's mood and affect. They describe a patient's general emotional state. It can be anything from sadness to happiness or anger and irritability. The affect can be assessed through facial expressions, general behavior and response to external or internal stimuli. You can express your emotions by laughing at a joke, or crying when you lose a loved one.
Affect is a feeling that lasts only a few minutes, whereas mood is a more sustained emotional state. It is usually described as either euthymic (normal) or dysphoric, which means depressed. Psychiatric professionals should be careful to avoid confusion between the two terms because they are different in their definition and are affected by various factors.
While the MSE is a helpful diagnostic tool however, it isn't always easy to interpret based upon subjective patient reports. It is therefore helpful to inquire about how patients have felt over the past few weeks, as opposed to using only the observation of a physician. Recent research has revealed that assessment tools differed in their ability to identify a significant part of symptoms. This included those that were grouped under the same disorder. This could be due the different emphasis placed on emotional, cognitive or physical symptoms, as well as differences in duration and frequency of reporting symptom reports.
It is possible that the MSE relies on self-reporting, which could be biased. For example, a patient who reports anxiety and a headache is likely to report a lower score than someone who has only the sensation of a headache. In addition, there is the tendency for patients to downplay negative feelings and overestimate the severity of positive feelings.
Affect and mood can have a direct influence on thought content. This can affect the way we make decisions, our interpersonal behavior, and physical functioning. They can be affected by stress, fatigue and social interactions, as well as world events, hormones and weather. In fact positive moods have been shown to enhance thinking and creativity. However, a mood that is negative can affect concentration and cause confusion. A thorough and thoughtful mental health evaluation must take into account both the patient's mood and affect and the other factors.
Thought content
Assessing how the patient thinks is among the most important aspects of a mental state examination. Assessment of thoughts and their content. The thought process is the coherence, logic, and organization of the patient's thoughts. Normal thought processes are logical and goal-oriented. Thought processing may be altered in several mental health conditions. Examples include delusions, hallucinations and loose associations.
A mental health assessment also evaluates insight and judgement. Insight is being able to recognize problems. Judgment is the capability to make a well-considered choice after receiving information. Both can be impaired by a variety of mental health issues like depression and schizophrenia. A person who isn't able to see or judgement is more likely to harm themselves or others. For example if they are in danger of burning their home down the sensible judgment would tell them to leave the house immediately. However, a person with impaired judgment may recommend staying in the house and trying to put the fire out.
The contents of a patient's mind include the subject matter, themes and beliefs. Examiners will evaluate the clarity, relatedness, and content of thoughts of the patient. They will note any thoughts that are tangential or circumstantial, and whether the patient is having flashes of thoughts (digressions from the subject of conversation). They will also comment on the speed at which someone is thinking, for example, if they seem to be more or less fast.
Other important areas to consider are whether the patient's thoughts are compatible or not in line with their surroundings. For instance, a person who is depressed could hear voices that sound aggressive and threatening, whereas those suffering from schizophrenia may be able to imagine the sound of a calm and soothing voice. Patients should be asked about any homicidal or suicidal thought. Although they are not common but they could be life-threatening and must be taken into consideration in every mental health assessment.
Watching
The nurse's ability to watch is essential in an assessment of mental health. They will conduct a thorough examination of behavior, appearance and any strange beliefs or perceptions (such as hallucinations or delusions) mood, and aspects of cognition (including attention to the environment, orientation memory). A nursing mental status examination also includes observing mobility, which includes any physical movement, such as eating or drinking, brushing your teeth using the toilet and putting on shoes.
The Observation component of the mental status examination is a key component of determining whether the patient is posing the risk to themselves or others. This is accomplished by determining if the patient appears to be acting in a deliberate way that suggests they're trying to harming themselves or someone else.
Additionally, a thorough assessment of the content of thoughts is conducted by monitoring the patient throughout the interview and determining their main concerns. It is important to check whether the patient is experiencing suicidal, homicidal or delusional thoughts.
A global assessment of functioning (GAF) is an assessment of a numerical score on a scale of 100 to 0 that measures a person's ability to function in daily life with their ability to deal with the stressors in their life. The GAF is a crucial component of the mental health examination and assists in making the treatment decisions.
It is crucial to be aware of the fact that observing a patient's behaviour can cause anxiety and it is essential to conduct the procedure in a way that does not cause anxiety for the patient and does not be uncomfortable for them. It is also vital that the patient is fully informed about the purpose of the observation and the amount of time it will take.
Nursing observation is an essential ability and should be an integral part of the nursing process. However, it must be kept in mind that patients could not agree with the degree of observation and if they cannot reach an agreement with staff, then they should have access to an advocate service that will represent their needs and help patients in any discussions about their care. This should be a part of the local policy and practice, with the involvement and the support of groups of users.
Questioning
Many people have a difficult to talk about their mental health issues however, family members can often notice the signs that something is not right. They can also help the person take steps to obtain an assessment. These assessments can be conducted on a variety of subjects such as mood, appearance and the thought process. In addition to these tests, the mental health professional will also ask the individual questions about their personal life, including what has been going on recently and what their emotions have been like.
The test includes an evaluation of the cognitive capacity that focuses on a person's ability to think clearly and remember information. The test taker may be asked to complete simple tasks, such as keeping their attention on an alphabet of words or objects, memorizing simple lists or solving math problems. The test will also test the ability of the individual to make sound decisions and make good judgments. The assessment also determines the patient's insight that reflects their knowledge of their condition and its effects on them.
assessment mental health of an assessment of mental health is the person's attitude towards other people, himself and the illness. The tone of voice, the facial expressions, and body language of a patient may indicate depression, anger, or a feeling of helplessness. It is important to observe whether the patient appears be asking for help or accepting their situation.
In more serious instances, a mental health assessment could include a thorough examination of the patient's mental state that could include hallucinations (false sensory perceptions that do not correspond to real stimuli) or illusions (misperceptions of real stimuli). It is crucial to recognize the presence of these conditions because they can be extremely hazardous and even life-threatening.
In general an assessment of mental health should take a holistic approach and look at the person's relationship to their social world. Health professionals can employ art, music or photos, or any other assessment tool to better understand the person. They should also talk with the person about the issues that caused them to seek assistance and assure them that there is nothing wrong with seeking out an expert in mental health.