Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health
Mental health assessments usually involve a physical examination, to rule out physical problems. This can include urine tests, blood test or even brain scans.
Psychologists also employ a array of tools to measure mental health. These tools range from paper and pencil test forms to in depth interviews or self-completed questionnaires for postal mail.
Mood and affect
The affect and mood are the most important components of the mental health exam (MSE) and are the first to be observed by a medical professional. They define a patient's general emotional state. This can vary from joy to sadness or irritability and anger. The effect can be analyzed by facial expressions, overall behavior and response to external or internal stimuli. smiling at a joke or crying at the loss of a loved one).
Affect is a temporary emotion while mood is a longer-lasting emotional state. It is often described as being either euthymic (normal) or dysphoric, meaning depressed. However, psychiatrists must be careful not to mix the two because they have different definitions and are affected by a range of factors.
The MSE can be a useful tool for diagnosing clinical problems, but it is difficult to interpret based on an individual patient's report. It is therefore helpful to ask patients how they have felt over the past few weeks, as opposed to relying solely on the observations of doctors. Recent research showed that the assessment tools were different in their ability to capture a significant portion of symptoms. This included those that were classified under the same disorder. This could be due to the different emphasis placed on emotional, cognitive or physical symptoms as and also the different duration and frequency of reporting symptoms.
It is possible that the MSE relies on self-reporting, which could be biased. For example, a patient who describes experiencing anxiety and headaches will likely have less than a person who describes only a headache. Patients tend to minimize negative feelings while exaggerating positive feelings.
The affect and mood of a person influence the content of thoughts and can affect the way we make decisions, our interpersonal behavior, and physical functioning. They are influenced by fatigue, stress, social interactions, world events, hormones, and the weather. In reality, a positive mood has been shown to enhance the ability to think and be creative. A mood that is negative can cause confusion and decrease concentration. Therefore, a careful and thorough mental health assessment needs to take into account the patient's mood and state of mind as well as their underlying factors.
Thought content
Assessing how the patient thinks is one of the most important aspects of a mental state examination. Internet Page of thoughts and their content. The thought process is the logic, coherence and organization of a patient’s thoughts. Normal thought processes are logical and focused on goals. Thought processing may be altered in several mental health conditions. Examples include hallucinations, delusions and loose associations.
Insight and judgement are also assessed in a mental status exam. Insight is the ability to identify that there is a problem, and judgement is the ability to make a rational decision when presented with information. Both can be impaired by several mental health conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. Patients with impaired insight or judgement is more likely to hurt themselves or others. If they are in danger, their rational judgement would suggest leaving the house immediately. A person with impaired judgment may suggest that they stay in the building to try to put out the fire.
Thought content includes the subject matter, themes and beliefs that a patient has. Generally, examiners comment on the clarity, relatedness and quality of a patient's thinking. They will be able to identify tangential ideas or circumstantial ones, and when a patient is digressing (digressions away from the topic of the conversation). They will also discuss the pace of a person's thoughts, including whether they appear fast or slow.
Other important areas to consider are whether the patient's thoughts are compatible or not in line with their environment. For instance, a patient who is depressed might hear voices that are hostile and frightening, whereas a person with schizophrenia might experience a hallucination of a calm and soothing voice. Ask the patient if they are experiencing any suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Although these are rare but they could be life threatening and should be taken into account during every mental health assessment.
Watching
A nurse's observation skills are crucial in the mental health assessment. They involve a thorough evaluation of appearance, behavior as well as any peculiar beliefs or perceptions (such hallucinations or delusions) and mood cognition (including attention, memory, orientation). The mental status exam for nurses also involves monitoring motility. This is any physical activity, like eating, drinking, or brushing teeth.
The observation component of the mental state examination is essential in determining whether the patient poses a risk to them or others. This is done by assessing if the patient appears to be moving in a deliberate manner that suggests they are trying to harm themselves or another person.
In addition, a comprehensive assessment of the content of thoughts is conducted by monitoring the patient throughout the interview and identifying their preoccupations. It is particularly important to determine if a patient is suffering from suicidal or homicidal ideas and to determine if they're having delusions.
Global assessment of functioning (GAF) is a numerical rating between 0 and 100, combines the ability of the person to perform in everyday life and their capability of coping with stressors. The GAF is a crucial part of the mental status assessment and aids in making treatment decisions.
It is essential to be aware of the fact that observing the behavior of a patient can cause distress and it is essential that the process is conducted in a way that does not cause anxiety for the patient and does not feel intrusive. It is also vital that the patient is aware of the reason for the observation and the amount of time it will last.
Nursing observation is an essential skill that must be at the heart of any nursing procedure. However, it should be remembered that patients may not agree with the degree of observation. If they are unable to come to 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 treatment. This should be a fundamental part of the local policy and practice, including the involvement of user groups, to ensure that patients are included in the creation of written information and staff training to support this aspect of clinical governance.
Questioning
Many people have a difficult time talking about their mental health issues, but loved ones will often be able to recognize the signs of something being wrong. They can also help the person take steps to take an assessment. These assessments can be conducted on a variety of topics, including mood, appearance and thought process. In addition to these tests, the mental health professional will also ask the person questions about their life, including what's been happening lately and what their feelings have been like.
The assessment includes a cognitive evaluation that focuses on a person's ability think clearly and retain information. The person may be required to complete basic tasks, such as focusing on a list or objects, recollecting lists or completing math problems. The test can also be used to check the individual's judgment and ability to make informed choices. The test determines a person's perception, which is their knowledge of their condition and how it affects them.
The patient's attitude towards himself, others and the illness is an important part of a mental assessment. The patient's voice, facial expressions and body language can convey anger, hostility, depression or a sense of helplessness. It is important to observe whether the patient appears to be asking for help or accepting their situation.
In more serious instances the evaluation of mental health may include an examination the patient's mental state which could include illusions or hallucinations. It is important to note the presence of these conditions because they can be extremely hazardous and even life-threatening.
In general the mental health assessment must be holistic and examine the person's relationship to their social environment. A health professional may use photographs, music, art, or any other assessment tool to better understand the person. They should also talk with the person about the challenges that caused them to seek help and assure them that there is nothing wrong with seeking out an expert in mental health.