Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Psych day 1 class notes

Ways we respond to deviant behavior:

Want to comfort ourselves: joking around

Might become afraid we also have the disease

A lot of students jump into the counseling centers here on campus

Diagnoses help w:

Labels serve us to feel comfortable and like symptoms are explained. They allow us to make prognoses and treatment plans. Helps w/ research.

www.nami.org or www.mami.org

No where is stigma more obvious than in mental illness.

The new asylums: a film we get. In march. We’ve come back to the 13th century in how we treat mental illness: we put people in jail b/c they get better treatment than they do in the community.

This is the #1 disability in western countries, but you don’t see a “bonkers fundraising marathon”

How diagnosis works: Axis format w/ a person.

5 routes/axes:

Axis 1: clinical disorder, mental illness groups

Axis 2: personality disorders, mental retardation

Diff btwn these 2: they are more ‘developmental’ apparent in early devel: usually seem to show up in childhood/be inborn. Axis 1 can be more treatable.

Axis 3: medical conditions

Axis 4: psych/soc and environmental. Stressors/events.

Axis 5: GAF: global assessment of functioning: and we mean ADL’s and stuff like Freeman’s clients being “high functioning” The other axes add up to these abilities

This is all subjective, on scale from 0 to 100.

Let’s say we have mild mental retardation. Lives in a group home, has a global function of 45. How are they functioning now?

Example; hypothyroidism, Mild MR, Bipolar 1; GAF last year 45; GAF today 15; Fighting w/ members of group home

So these sort out like this:

A1: Bipolar 1

A2: MMR

A3: Hypothyroid

A4: fighting w/ home

A5: GAF’s

Mental health nursing is a lot about empowering the client. No one gets change from therapy unless they’re into it—need buy in. Asking client to help plan care helps with buy in. Taking decisions away don’t motivate anyone.

You need to synthesize your knowledge. We teach psych early b/c we want people to be ready for hosp patients.

What to believe or not to believe from pts? If someone believes they are being followed by the mafia, its really true for them.

Top priorities:
Safety first. To be committed: danger to self, others or unable to meet basic needs.

Clinical will have outpatient hosp: these pts may be involuntarily committed. To be released from an acute psych setting: you have to do whatever the people there tell you do and they’ll let you go. TO be committed you have to be out of ADL’s not for some organic reason; like organic brain damage.

Health: if someone has aids

Water: sometimes pts get dry mouth from meds and overdrink water

Intrapersonal problems: addiction, impulsivity

Interpersonal problems: fights w/ group home members, prob at home, job, etc.

Anxiety is not allowed: hugging the charts and break rooms will be noticed. Don’t fear conversations, you won’t kill anyone. Notice your feelings, stereotyping, reactions. If you’re really nervous about what you’re going to say, don’t say it and start listening. You don’t have to be on stage. Pts want to be listened to.

What if someone wants to share a secret with you? “I’m glad you trust me and that you want to share, and I won’t be able to hold information from your staff.”

Pts have a right to refuse. They have a right to be angry. And tell you to fuck off. We don’t want to have people get so angry that they damage stuff.

Dwell on strengths, not deficits. Play on their strengths.

ACT: means “assertive community treatment”

RNs do most health management on a psych floor.

In long term care fac. do more education than therapy or med admin.

Nurses

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