Mental Health Assessment Flashcards
What is a major reason that clients may not want to divulge they have a mental illness?
Because of the social stigma associated with mental illness
What is something very important to consider when discussing mental illness with someone?
Be cautious with the language you use
What are some mental health campaigns?
Movember
Bell let’s talk
Alcoholics Anonymous
What is something simple that people can do to relieve mild depression?
Exercise, even as simple as walking
There are many things that mental illness is, however there is one important thing that it is not. What isn’t it?
Mental illness is not the polar opposite of mental health. People can live “healthy” lives with mental illness.
What is the most prevalent mental health disorder grouping?
Anxiety disorders.
Why do practitioners tend to miss bipolar disorder a lot?
We only tend to see the depression part - b/c realistically, who would want to complain about the manic portions.
Many of the issues of mental disorders are part and parcel with regular life. However, at what point do these symptoms become an issue?
When it starts to affect your day to day life and you are unable to cope
What are some key concepts that characterize most mental health issues?
Tend to see a disruption in interpreting reality, disorganized thinking and impact on insight and judgement
What is considered the bible of mental health disorders?
the DSM-V
Illness with symptoms related to thinking and cognition, mood and affect, or behaviour.
Mental health disorders
What are the different sources (general) of mental health disorders?
genetic, biological, social, chemical, psychological
What is the major difference between the DSM-IV and V?
The DSM-IV had axes of disorders; now we have broad categories of disorders.
What is one of the major critiques of the DSM-V?
Perhaps the categories are leading to overdiagnoses
A lot of antidepressants have on their label that they may increase suicidal ideation. Why is that?
The ideations were always there, but now they have more energy to act out the suicide.
Immigration itself can put a person at risk for developing ___________.
schizophrenia
How do support networks function in mental illness?
For the most part, help with coping mechanisms and are a protective factor.
What are some important things to ask if you are talking about suicide with a patient? How do you broach the topic.
Majority of evidence says go for the money shot - straight up ask.
Really want to know if they have a plan or not.
False, fixed belief that isn’t rooted in reality.
Delusion
For people with schizophrenia, the lucid moments may be worse. Why?
It may call into question all reality for them
What is the acronym for Mental health assessment (physical exam)? What does it stand for?
ASEPTIC A - appearance and behaviour S - speech E - emotion and affect P - perception T - thought process/content I - insight and judgement C - cognition
Random array of words jumbled together, often seen in schizophrenics.
Word salad
Words make sense themselves, but the sentences are not connected in a coherent way.
Flight of ideas
Takes a long time to make a point since the conversation is indirect.
Tangientiality
When the person is fixated on one single thing, excessively.
Perseverate
Patient repeats what is said to them.
Echolalia
Belief that a person is in love with you.
Erotamia
When we do a mental health assessment as part of our physical examination, we tend to use a lot of ________ tools.
screening
What is a mental health questionaire that is often used as a screening tool in hospitals?
Describe it.
What are some issues with it?
PHQ9 - patient health questionaire 9
Patient has to recall presence of symptoms in the previous 2 weeks.
May be hard to remember; halo effect (or the opposite); malingering, etc.
What is a screening tool for GAD?
GAD7
Screening tools help us understand if a patient is at risk for certain mental illnesses, but really help us in another way. What is it?
Gives us an idea of how to individualize our plan with patients.
What is a common screening tool for detecting alcoholism?
CAGE questinair C- cut down A - annoyed G - guilty E - eye opener (Drink to get over hangover)
A lot of time, people with mental illnesses feel as if they are a burden to their families. How can a nurse rephrase this?
It’s the disease that is the burden, not them.
In regards to the burden of mental illness. What is the primary burden? What are the secondary burdens?
Primary - suffering the symptoms
Secondary
- carrying the label
- facing other’s judgement
What is the approach we should be taking to mental health?
Recovery oriented approach
___________ _______ limits the ability of people to access life opportunities, leads to the criminilization of illness behaviours, and limits access to general health care.
Community stigma
