Unit 3 - Mental Health Assessment

Question 1

What is Mental Illness?

Answer 1

Symptoms that may involve alterations in thought, experience, and emotion that are serious enough to cause distress and impair functioning

Question 2

Why do we perform a mental health assessment?

Answer 2

Can be the root cause of other issues

Understanding of pt. and their experience

Help to develop interventions for pt.

Question 3

Factors Affecting Mental Health Assessment? (4)

Answer 3

Known illness

Current medication

Known education and behavioural level

Responses to personal history question

Question 4

Differentiate between Dementia and Delirium?

Answer 4

Dementia: gradual onset and irreversible

Delirium: is acute onset and normally resolved once the medical condition is treated

Question 5

Cues of possible dementia and delirium

Answer 5

Seems disoriented

Defers to a family member to answer questions directed at pt.

Repeatedly and apparently unintentionally fails to follow instructions

Difficulty following conversations

Question 6

Define Depression

Answer 6

Mood disorders marked by a loss of interest or pleasure in living

Including cognitive and physical changes

Question 7

Mental Health Assessment: what does ABCT stand for?

Answer 7

A - appearance (posture, movement, hygiene, dress)

B- behaviour (LOC, appropriate response to stimuli, speech)

C- cognitive functions (know time, place, person, self; attention span; memory; insight and judgement)

T - thought process (do they make sense? can you follow them? What are they saying? Logical and consistent? Are they aware of reality?)