Chapter 18 Flashcards
Mental Health
The absence of identifiable diseases
Orientation
Refers to a persons awareness of self in the context of a particular time and place
STM
Short-term memory loss
Time interval is seconds
LTM
Long-term memory
Time interval is measured in minutes and beyond
The 1st symptom of Alzheimer’s disease
Is the gradual progressive decline in the ability to learn new information
Delirium
Confusion
Enmeshment
Interactions between family members that keep them dependent on each other
Acalculia
A learning or speech disorder characterized by the inability to perform simple arithmetic operations
Receptive Aphasia
The patient can hear but can’t understand what is being said to them, slow to respond. Many only understand a portion of what is being said.
Expressive Aphasia
Can’t produce fluent speech. Speech described as halting.
Total or Global Aphasia
A deficit of planning, production, and compensation of language. Can speak and understand only a few words.
Catastrophic reaction
screaming or laving the room. can happen when a person is pushed beyond their competency levels
Cognitive Functions
- Perceiving
- thinking
- remembering
- communicating
- orienting
- calculating
- problem solving
1st type of confusion someone with dementia experiences
Delirium
The only vehicle (method) for assessing the client’s thought processes
Communication
Uses of psychological assessments
Assess memory, delirium, and depression
The impact of depression on the mental status score
Depression may be chronic or acute. Symptoms may vary in intensity
3 steps in the memory process
- Reception
- Storage
- Retrieval
4 levels of consciousness
- Alert
- Lethargic
- Aroused
- Comatose
s/s of delirium
Sudden Confusion and Disorientation
causes of delirium
Alzheimers disease
4 important things to put into practice when performing a psychological assessment
- Timing
- Privacy
- no interruptions
- positive introduction of assesment
s/s of depression in elderly
Withdrawn Socially Isolated Sad Mood Lack of interest Feeling of guilt Thoughts of death and suicide
causes of depression in elderly
Significant losses
physical disabilities
loss of health
