Mental Health Nursing - Assessing Mental Health

Mental health assessments often include a physical exam to rule out physical conditions. This may include blood tests, urine tests or brain scans.

Psychologists also use a wide variety of tools to assess mental health. They can use pen and paper test forms to in-depth interviews, or self-complete postal questionnaires.

Affect and mood

The doctor will first observe the patient's mood and emotional state. They describe the patient's general mood that can range from happiness to sadness, or even irritability to anger. The effect can be analyzed through facial expressions, general behavior and reaction to internal or external stimuli. You can express your feelings by smiling at the joke or crying when you lose a beloved one.

Affect is an emotion that is temporary, whereas mood is a state of constant emotion. It is usually described as either euthymic (normal) or dysphoric, which translates to depressed. Psychiatric professionals should be careful to not confuse the two terms, as they are interpreted differently and are affected by various factors.

While the MSE is a useful tool for clinical use however, it isn't always easy to interpret based upon subjective patient reports. It is therefore important to inquire about how patients have been feeling over the last few weeks, instead of relying on physician observation only. Recent research showed that the assessment instruments differed in their capacity to detect a substantial portion of symptoms. This included those that were classified under the same disorder. This can be because of the different emphasis on cognitive or emotional symptoms as well as the different the time intervals and frequency of reporting symptoms.

It is possible that the MSE is based on self-reporting, which may be prone to bias. A patient who reports both anxiety and headache is likely to get an lower score than one who reports only migraine. In addition, there is the tendency for patients to minimize negative emotions and overestimate the severity of positive ones.

Affect and mood have a direct impact on thoughts, which can influence the way we make decisions, our interpersonal behavior and physical functioning. They can be affected by stress, fatigue social interactions, world events, hormones and even the weather. A positive mood can enhance creativity and mental power. However, a mood that is negative can affect concentration and cause confusion. A thorough and thoughtful bipolar mental health assessment [published on Werite] health evaluation must take into account the patient's mood as well as affect and the other factors.

Thought content

One of the most essential aspects of a mental health examination is assessing how the patient thinks. Particularly, evaluating thought processes and thoughts. The thought process is the logic, coherence and organization of a patient’s thoughts. A normal thought processes is objective-oriented and logic-based. In many mental health disorders, however, thought processing is distorted. Examples include hallucinations and delusions as well as loose associations.

Insight and judgment are assessed in a mental status exam. Insight is the ability to identify that there is a problem, while judgement is the ability to make a rational decision based on information. Both can be impaired by various mental health conditions like depression and schizophrenia. Patients with impaired insight or judgment is more likely to hurt themselves or others. For example when they are in danger of destroying their home, sensible judgement would tell that they should leave the premises immediately. However, a patient with impaired judgment may recommend staying in the house and trying to put the fire out.

The contents of a patient's mind includes their themes, subject matter and beliefs. Examiners will assess the clarity, relevance, and content of thoughts of the patient. They will be able to identify tangential ideas or circumstantial ones, as well as if the patient has digressions (digressions away from the subject of the conversation). They will also make comments on the speed of a person's thoughts, such as whether they seem to be fast or slow.

Other areas to be considered are whether the patient's thoughts are compatible or not in line with their environment. For example, a patient who is depressed might hear voices that sound aggressive and threatening, whereas someone suffering from schizophrenia could have a hallucination of an ethereal and calm voice. Ask the patient if they have any suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Although they are not common, they can be life-threatening and must be considered during every mental health assessment.

Observation

The nurse's ability to observe is vital in an triage assessment mental health of mental health. They are a thorough review of appearance, behaviour as well as any unusual beliefs or perceptions (such as hallucinations or delusions) mood, as well as aspects of cognition (including attention to orientation, attention memory). A mental state examination for nurses also includes observing mobility, which includes any physical movement, such as eating drinking, eating, brushing teeth or using the toilet, as well as putting on shoes.

The Observation component of the mental health examination is vital in determining if the patient poses a risk to them or others. This is accomplished by determining if the patient appears to be acting in a deliberate way that suggests they are about harm themselves or another person.

A detailed evaluation of the thought-based content is also accomplished by observing the patient during the interview and determining preoccupations. It is crucial to determine if a patient is suffering from suicidal or homicidal ideas and to determine if they're having thoughts of suicide or delusions.

A global assessment of functioning (GAF) is an assessment of a numerical score on a scale from zero to 100 that evaluates the capacity of a person to function in daily life with their capacity to handle the stresses that come with life. The GAF is an important element of the mental state examination and helps to guide the treatment decisions.

It is important to recognize that observing the behavior of a patient may cause distress. It is therefore important that the procedure is conducted in a manner that does not cause discomfort or feel intrusive. It is also essential that the patient is fully informed about the purpose of the observation as well as the length of time it will take.

Nursing observation is an essential skill that should be a central part of the nursing process. However, it must be noted that patients might disagree with the level of observation. If they are unable to come to an agreement with the staff, they should be able to access an advocate service that can represent their interests and assist patients in any discussions about their care. This should be an integral part of the local policy and practice, with the involvement of user groups to ensure that patients are a part in the creation of written documents and staff training for this aspect of governance in the clinic.

Questioning

Many people have a difficult to discuss their mental health problems, but loved ones will often be able to recognize the signs of something being wrong. They can also help the person to get an assessment. These tests can be extremely broad and cover a wide range of subjects, such as mood, appearance, memory, thinking process and more. In addition to these tests, the mental health professional will also ask the person questions about their life, such as what has been going on recently and what their feelings have been like.

The assessment includes an assessment of cognitive ability that focuses on a person's ability think clearly and retain information. The person could be asked to complete basic tasks, such as focussing on a list or objects, remembering lists or completing math problems. The test can also check the ability of the individual to make good decisions and use judgment. The assessment also determines the patient's insight and level of understanding about the illness and its effects on them.

Another vital aspect of a mental health assessment is the person's attitude toward the world, himself and his illness. The patient's voice, facial expression and body language can indicate anger, hostility depression or a feeling of insecurity. It is crucial to determine whether the patient appears to be seeking assistance or is accepting their situation.

In more serious cases the assessment of mental health could include a look at the patient's thoughts which could include illusions or hallucinations. These conditions can be dangerous and even fatal.

In general the mental health assessment should be holistic and look at the person's connection to their social life. A health professional may use photographs, music, art, or any other assessment tool to gain a better understanding of the person. They should also discuss the challenges that led the person to seek help, and assure that there is nothing wrong with seeing an expert in mental health.