Mental Health
Introduction
Nurses play an important role in ensuring quality mental health care is offered to clients in the community. Mental disorders affect the normal functioning of an individual resulting in emotional suffering, stigma, and discrimination. Mental health intervention strategies are very crucial in changing the lives of individuals with mental disorders. Various intervention procedures are administered depending on the mental condition of the client. Before deciding any intervention procedure to apply to clients, it is important to create a friendly environment that encourages clients to narrate their past and current mental condition. Involving clients in setting the goals of the treatment is necessary for the process of determining the most appropriate intervention methods to use. Client involvement in assessment of the client’s risk enables the client to state his/her beliefs, which helps the health care providers to administer intervention method that does not violate beliefs of the client. Identifying management priorities and setting the goals of the treatment helps nurses in settling to mental health intervention strategies that are client-centered and recovery focused.
Management Priorities
Stress and anxiety are major causes of Felix’s mental condition. Stress and anxiety intervention will be important in ensuring that Felix recovers from his mental problem. Stress is a mental disorder that causes both physical and mental effects. (Toussaint, 2016). Stress has adverse effects to the clients, and causes the clients to start thinking on how to harm themselves (Song, 2015). In Felix’s case, managing the stress should be the first goal because stress has caused most of the symptoms that are present in Felix’s condition. The first intervention should be to focused on helping Felix to recover from stress so that he can be able to make his own sound decisions. Lack of sleep is a physical effect being experienced by Felix because of stress. Poor sleep adversely affects his health because sleep is necessary for good health, hence need for an intervention. Stress is one of the main factors that expose individuals to the behavior of drug abuse. Most mentally affected clients claims that drugs help them to relieve stress (Pikhart, 2016). In the case of Felix, he has started consuming alcohol by claiming that alcohol will help him to relieve the stress he is experiencing. As a result, offering an intervention method that will help Felix to understand the adverse effects of drug abuse will be useful in ensuring full recovery. Management priorities are key in setting intervention goals, which will then help to administer the right therapeutic methods to Felix.
Identifying management priorities is the first step towards managing the mental condition of any client (Patel, 2016). Felix is a 20-year old single man who requires intervention for his current mental condition. Felix suffered from child abuse when he was young because of his parent marital breakdown. Felix has a problem in making decisions because he fears that he can end up making the wrong decisions because of anxiety (Kouchak, 2015). Also, Felix cannot concentrate because of the feeling of distress. Stress causes Felix to be unable to relax and makes him have poor sleep. Lack of family and social support causes Felix to have thoughts of harming himself. Felix also has a thought of committing suicide. Stress has also caused Felix to indulge himself in alcohol consumption where he has to take a bottle of whisky ever night (Toussaint, 2016). For full recovery, the intervention procedures will be administered according to the mentioned management priorities.
Goals
Establishing a therapeutic relationship helps therapeutic professionals to administer therapeutic procedures without any resistance from the client (Hurry, 2018). Creating a good therapeutic relationship is important in recovery process of clients, and therefore, first goal in Felix’s case will be to ensure that a therapeutic relationship exists between Felix and the therapeutic administrator. A therapeutic relationship will enable Felix to be able to share his thoughts about his mental condition (Thorne, 2016). Therefore, a consistent relationship between Felix and the therapist will assist the therapist to learn Felix’s beliefs and emotions towards his mental condition. Understanding the emotions and beliefs of Felix towards his mental condition will ensure that the therapeutic procedure administered to Felix is related to Felix’s beliefs to avoid any form of resistance (Birchler, 2015). Interaction skills are key in creation of health therapeutic relationship. From the therapeutic relationship, it will be easy to establish Felix’s acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, which is key to ensuring a right and appropriate intervention method is used. Managing anxiety and stress in Felix’s case will be a common goal between the client and the health care professional.
Managing stress and anxiety is an obvious goal in Felix’s case. Stress causes both physical and mental effects on the client (McEwen, 2017). Stress is a mental disorder that adversely affects the client. Felix does not have adequate knowledge of stress management. Felix consumes alcohol as one way to maintain his stress. Also, sometimes friends can offer useful advice on stress management, but Felix does not have any social work. Stress has forced Felix to develop a thought of harming himself. To avoid the adverse effect of stress, one goal of the therapeutic procedure will be to educate Felix on effective methods of managing stress (Pokhrel, 2018). Anxiety is causing Felix to have the feeling of worry and nervousness, which prevents him from making his decisions. Therefore, anxiety management is another goal for the intervention method to be offered to Felix. Stress and anxiety have caused Felix to consider committing suicide to end his mental problems. Assessing risk factors and protective factors is, therefore, another goal for treatment to be offered towards Felix. Felix is experiencing poor sleep, and improving his sleep cycle will be another important goal for this treatment.
Improving sleep and encouraging a balanced diet are important goals in Felix’s recovery process. Lack of sleep is commonly caused by stress. Sleep is important for all human beings for mind relaxation (Freeman, 2017). Providing an intervention strategy to Felix that is focused on improving his sleep cycle and diet will be necessary for full recovery. Thinking patterns are a great concern for Felix’s mental condition. Poor thinking patterns are causing Felix to fear to make his decisions. To ensure that Felix completely recovers from his mental disorder, there is a need to focus on intervention method that is aimed at improving his thinking patterns. Counseling is an important tool in the recovery process of mentally affected clients (Cross, 2015). Some clients resist engaging in counseling, which affects their recovery process. In Felix’s case, counseling will help in ensuring that Felix stops the behavior of excessive alcohol consumption, therefore, encouraging Felix to engage in counseling will be another goal that will be useful in Felix’s recovery process. The intervention goals will assist in choosing therapeutic procedures that are appropriate for treating Felix’s mental condition.
Interventions
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an intervention method that is useful in the treatment of anxiety, stress, and other mental related problems (Dobson, 2019). Engaging Felix in a two-week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will provide a chance to interact and counsel the client. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy session, will allow therapist to give examples and illustrations that will help in changing Felix’s negative thoughts. Therefore, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will cause Felix to start living a positive life, which is a crucial step towards his recovery. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) treatment will help Felix to identify his strengths and weaknesses. Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that is more of talk therapy because it helps the clients to use the right strategies to express their emotions and feelings (Winter, 2017). Felix feels that he is not worthy in society, and that is why he is thinking of harming himself by committing suicide. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a support oriented type of therapy that will help Felix feel better about himself. Stress and anxiety make it difficult for clients to relax. Felix uses wrong methods such as consuming alcohol to enable him to relax. Therefore, in this treatment, it is necessary to educate Felix on the effective techniques of relaxation. Educating Felix about use of natural plants to improve his state of mind by taking him through an aroma therapy education will supplement on his relaxation. Music is an effective relaxation technique, therefore educating Felix on the importance of music in promoting relaxation will be crucial. Counseling is an important intervention therapy that helps clients to overcome anxiety and stress.
Exploring the emotional difficulties experienced by Felix is achieved through the use of counseling session. Felix has negative thoughts that need to be addressed to enable him to live a normal life. Through the counseling session, the counsellor will be able to change Felix’s point of view, which will enable him to live a positive life. Use of exposure therapy will help Felix to be able to deal with anxiety and distress. Social network is necessary for ensuring the well-being of individuals in the community. Encouraging Felix to join social groups in the community will assist in establishing his social network. After discharge from the mental care unit referring Felix to an experienced psychologist will enable in monitoring Felix’s recovery process. Jane is the psychologist who can be contacted by Felix anytime for assistance one his mental condition worsens. A psychologist will monitor the progress of Felix after the discharge, and the psychologist will offer advice that will help Felix to start living a healthy life. Felix has developed a habit of consuming excess alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal management therapy is an effective method that assists alcohol addicts to stop excess alcohol consumption (Walitzer, 2015). In alcohol management withdrawal therapy, Felix need to be educated on the adverse physical and mental effects of excess alcohol consumption. Educating Felix about the importance of personal hygiene that includes personal cleanliness and maintaining his house environment conducive for living will assist Felix to have good sleep at night.
Keeping personal hygiene will help Felix to be able to have a cool sleep at night. Felix lacks social support in his life. To ensure that Felix leads a healthy positive life, it will be of importance to connect him with community groups such as football clubs. Socializing with other people will help Felix to develop positive thoughts about life, which is vital for his full recovery from the mental disorder (Naslund, 2016). Performing a risk evaluation of Felix’s mental condition and Mental Examination Status will tailor the strategies that helps to determine type of medication to be administered to Felix. Anxiety and depression are major causes of Felix’s mental disorder, and anxiety can easily drive Felix to commit suicide. Antidepressant SSRI and SNRI medication is useful in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Benzodiazepine medication should also be administered to Felix because this type of medication helps to balance of serotonin in the brain, hence managing anxiety (Martini, 2015). Educating Felix that the use benzodiazepine increases side effects such as dizziness, confusion, and difficulty concentration will be important to ensure that Felix continues with the administered medication. Due to these side effects of this type of medication, the psychologist need to follow up on Felix’s compliance to the medication after he has been discharged.
In summary, nurses are important professionals who ensure that clients receive quality mental care. Mental disorders affect the normal functioning of individuals resulting in emotional suffering. Also, mental disorder affects the well-being of an individual and also causes adverse effects to society at large, hence need for intervention. Felix is a young single man with a mental disorder. Anxiety and stress have caused Felix to develop a habit of excessive alcohol consumption. Also, Felix lacks family support and social network. To come up with the most appropriate intervention methods, it will be of importance to involve Felix in the process of setting the treatment goals, which will assist in offering outcome focused mental care services to Felix. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will help Felix to recover from stress. Counseling sessions will help Felix to develop positive thoughts about life. Prescribing appropriate medication, will help Felix to fully recover from anxiety. Making a follow up after discharging Felix will be the last step that will assist in monitoring the recovery process of Felix.
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