Instructions
- Demonstrate advance understanding of mental health assessement based on contemporary literature and supporting evidence base.
- Critically, evualuate the effectivenes of implementing and evaluating care interventions to meet the needs of individuals and their families.
- Critically appraise the effectiveness of own role in understanding an assessing and delivery care to an individual experiencing a mental health concern.
- Undertake a critical review of mental health policy and practise to inform and evaluate service provision.
Mental Health Assessement
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as “state of well being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stressess of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make the contribution to her or his community” (WHO, 2007)
In a global context, the extent of mental disorders have been pin – pointed by many research studies and tried to address the far – reaching effects of such illnesses. Despite of these efforts by various research studies, the effects of mental health on social, economic and human aspects of life have been totally abandoned by institutions, countries, and donors. Key contributors to such conditions, and which has a greater effect, are perversive stigma as well as discrimination (Thormcroft et al., 2009). Mental disorders vary in types and nature of its manifestation to individuals. The mental disorders include depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post – traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), addiction, bipolar disorders, eating disorder, and schizophrenia ( Newson, Hunter, & Thiagarajan, 2020). Mental health assessment involves the research, analysis, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. In most of cases, mental assessment involves the use of different types of questionnaires as well as conduction of either face – to face or online interviews to people suspected to be suffering from such illnesses. The use of interviews and questionnaires are the initial intervention steps in mental health examinations in which whether or not a patient is suffering from mental health problems are determined, the extent of the mental disorder to the individual is assessed, and how long the symptoms have been felt on the psychiatric individual. The questionnaires and interviews contents of the disorders are often determine by the type of the disorder (APA, 2013). Using questionnaires and interviews as tools for mental health assessment usually present an all – inclusive tool in which all the parameters of mental illnesses are examined, diagnosed and treated. The interviews are usually of more than one type. They can be open – ended, where the focus is on making a formal psychiatric diagnosis of the mental diseases (First et al., 2016). Also, the interviews can be those which provide assessment of the different dimensions in addressing the extent of the disorders in order to support examination as well as treatment of the diseases.
As mental health assessment tools, questionnaires and interviews are very essesntial for clinicians because they enable the clinicians to build an understanding of the psychological issues and concerns that the patients are going through in order to have proper medical procedures to address such mental health conditions. The doctors and clinicians employ varied assessment strategies to examine the different ranges and types of diagnostic processes (Wisco et. al., 2016). The tools for assessment mental health problems majorly works specific disorders and perhaps what works for one mental health problem might not work for another problem. This means that a wrong choice for tools used in diagnosis of mental health will bring a totally different result which sometimes may not be the correct picture of what the patient is suffering from. There is also need to clearly understand various causes assist in mitigating the cause and effect of mental health problems by having proper treatment strategies. These can include developing physiological indicators to assess the biological state of an individual and also give a direction on the inventions and introduction of drugs – related measures (Woo, et al., 2017). The identification and selection of interviews usually involves conduction of several different reviews of past books and literature to look at how a past problem of such kind was addressed so that it could guide how the clinicians would deal with the problem at hand (Newson & Thiagarajan, 2019)
Mental health resilience is the ability to cope with the negative effects of stress and disorders of patients together with healthcare providers. The interventions range from supporting the basic daily needs, psychological support interventions or a collection of all these strategies. Interventions employed to address and support mental health individuals may yield results in different ways. The WHO points out that encouragement of healthy mental health coupled with prevention of adverse effects of mental effects far – reaching and supportive activities (WHO, 2002). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID – 19) pandemic, for example, and the social distancing that most of the countries put in place have resulted to interference of daily operations of people thereby causing mental health related diseases due to the high cost of living as well as the general depreciation in the average health of people. Currently, there is evident support to look at the various mental health related issues and to addressing them especially for health – care providers and also for normal people working in public and private sectors. Cultural intervention tries to deeply address the factors that show to some extent, the effect of culturally adapted interventions. According to Roja – Garcia, et al., (2014), individually administered interventions in medical facilities, which relied on psychological trainings of individual, physical exercise, and the one which gained cultural adaptive mechanisms have more reaching effects.
The knowledge of the remedies to psychological and social as well as psychiatric status is vital, for example, for clinicians dealing with cancer based on the researches that have concluded on the effectiveness of the same measures (Faller et al., 2013). Counselling, educational, coping and psychological support are therapeutical interventions for mental health disorders. The method used in addressing mental health disorders leans on several variables such clinical, psychological conditions, the type and phase of illness. Identified phobias are given specific attentions by specific medical experts in different phobic responses. People with mental disorders receive special care interventions ranging from personal issues like cleanliness, and also doing various chores. Autism, for examples is a mental disorder which interferes with the normal functioning of the brain. This means that part of the brain of individuals suffering from this condition cannot allow them to operate normally. Such individuals need personal monitoring in terms of their daily activities like eating, relieving themselves as well taking bath. Familiy is important in training autistic patients to practise doing things in their own way. In the clinincs and psychiatric centres, they as well, are given specialized treatment and training as well as administering clinical treatment.
Community also plays a very important role in as far as interventions for enhancing mental health and the effects of socio-ecological stages. Institutions, schools, families, and community in general provides multi – faceted approaches in promoting social – wellness and mitigating structural moderators of mental health. Putting effort in community engagements to avail resources and enlighten interventions, putting into consideration expertise operating outside the healthcare. Knowledge of the varied push – factors that exist at the local level are vital in facilitating or hindering mental health.
Every person plays an important role in understanding an assessing and delivery care to an individual experiencing mental health issues.
Mental health policies are interventions put in place as a guiding principles in guiding mental health issues. In the era of COVID – 19, for examples, the response to the disease has far reaching effect on mental healthcare systems. The virus has prompted major alterations in the mental health policy. These include, legislations, regulations, financing, accountability and workforce development (Goldman et al., 2020). Policies at the local levels can be a hinderance or an advantage that can be checked with legislative interventions. As earlier indicated, COVID – 19 has really caused mental health disorders based on the socio – economic impacts on individuals. In the United States, for example, Families First Coronavirus Response Act was initiated in April 2020 for individuals exhibiting the symptoms of COVID – 19. It incorporates need for quarantine or caring for children or ill family (HR, 2020).
An array of regulations has also been issues in several countries as a way of responding to COVID – 19 effects on mental health. Some of the policies aim to minimize face to face contact between patient and providers so to reduce viral transmissions. Concerning mental – health disorders, several regulations have been initiated to address the cases of mental health disorders. Such include vaccination services to children to mitigate certain illnesses originating from mental disfunctions like autism, bipolar, among other disorders.
Financing is also a very important aspect of health policy. Due to the fact that funding is determined by the government regulations, private organizations are always affected by changes in the mental health policy. Keeping mental health interventions really bank on re – funding for clinical services (Goldman et al., 2020)
The government plays an important role in overseeing the general health services. Stigma is identified as a very important hindrance in the quest to seek for help in mental disorder patients. Studies have been conducted on the relationship between stigma and efforts to seeking help (Angermeyer, 2017). Various strategies are installed to hold health care providers, programs to be accountable for the sky – rocketing care by imposing quality mechanism. These mechanisms are essential in collecting and reporting parameters.
References
Angermeyer, M., C., Matschinger, H., Schomes, G., (2017) 50th Anniversary of Psychiatric Attitude Research in Germany. Psychiatr Prax 44
Wisco, B., E., Miller M., W., Wolf, E., J., Kilpatrick, D., Rensick, H., S., Badour, C., L., et al., (2016). The Impact of Proposed Changes to ICD – 11 on estimates of PTSD prevalance and cormobidity. Psychiatry Res
Woo, C-W., Chang, L., J., Lindquist M., A., Wager T., D., (2017). Building better Biomakers: Brain models in translational neuroimaging. Nat Neurosci
NewsoN, J., J., & Thigarajan, T., C., (2019). EEG Frequency bands in psychiatric disoders: a review of resting state studies. Front Hum Neurosci
Roja – Garcia, A., Ruiz – Perez, I., Goncalves, D., C., Rodriguez – Barranco, M., Rici – Cabello (2014). Healthcare interventions for Perinatal Depression in Socially disadvantaged women. Clin Psychol Sci Pract
Faller, H., Schuler, M., Richard, M., Heckl, U., Weis, J., and Kuffer, R., (2013). Effects of psycho – oncologic interventions on emotional distress and quality of life in adult patients with cancer: systematic review and meta – analysis. Journal of Clinical Oncology 31
Goldman, M., L., Druss, G., B., Marcela, H., Grayson, S., Kristin, K., P., et al.,
(2020) Mental Health policy in the era of COVID – 19. Psychiatric Services
HR 6201- Families First Coronavirus Response Act. (2020). 116th Congress
Thormcroff, G., Brohan, E., Rose, D., Sartorius, N., Leese, M., (2009) Pattern of Experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with Schizophremia: A cross-sectional Survey. Lancet (London, England)
World Health Organization (2007). What is Mental health?http://www.who.int/features/qa/62/en
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental health assessement. Front Psychiatry
First, M., William, J., Karg, R., & Spitzer, R., (2016). Structured Clinical interview for DSM – 5 Disorders, Clinical Versions. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association
Newson, J., J., Hunter, D., & Thiagarajan, T., C., (2020). The Heterogeinity of Mental Health Assessement. Front Psychiatry