Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper

Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper

Mental health disorders are critical issues that can affect health and wellbeing of patients. Mental health patients can develop physical health issues such as cardiovascular diseases at an early age (Kubzansky et al., 2018). Hence, this essay focuses on the theoretical understanding of recovery-oriented nursing practice which is a holistic approach to improving the health and wellbeing of a patient. It also focuses on the Framework for Recovery-oriented Practice (Department of Health, 2011) and the principles of the Mental Health Act (2014) that act as guidelines for nurses to address mental health issues. It also applies these theories to practice.

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Recovery-oriented practice is often used to represent mental health recovery. In the case of mentally ill patients, it refers to the practice that aids the patient to take up their own responsibilities of recovery and wellbeing. Pavlo et al. (2018) defined it as a strong relationship between patients and the healthcare providers that enhances an ill person’s abilities and gives him/her confidence to perform daily activities. It focuses on the holistic development of a person, both mental and physical. The study conducted by Waldemar et al. (2019) observed that integration of patients’ views and preferences, offering them choices, and allowing them to take their own decisions helped in improving their relationship with the healthcare professionals. Slade (2017) defines recovery-oriented practice as the empowerment of patients to take their own decisions. Involving patients in decision making processes and recovery regime encourage patient participation in the recovery process Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper.

While considering the cases of mental health issues, the traditional medical model of care is often contrasted against the recovery-oriented process. According to the definition provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), describes both the models as an opponent of each other. The medical model is the one that focuses on the recovery from the underlying diseases, hence, supporting medical treatments and implementing them to improve patient outcome. It ensures recovery of patients through medications that addresses the biological causes.  It expects immediate clinical outcomes. The recovery-oriented practice is the one that focuses on development and recovery of the person as a whole, hence, supporting the patient, both morally and physically, undertaking a psychological improvement approach. It is aimed at creating a positive self-identity of a mentally ill patient, giving him/her a meaningful and purposeful life. It also defines the activities and roles of an individual in their work environment.

There are 9 domains of the Framework for Recovery-oriented Practice (Department of Health, 2011), which are as follows-

• Promotion of a culture of hope- It refers to understanding the recovery principles and implementing them while communicating with patients. It also involves creation of an optimistic service environment and encourage their efforts of recovery.
• Promotion of autonomy and self-determination- It refers to encouraging patients to make their own decisions and take their own responsibilities in performing day-to-day activities, thus, preventing limitation of human rights. It encourages their self-determination to achieve their recovery goals.
• Collaborative partnerships and meaningful engagements- It refers to working respectfully in collaboration with patients. It involves respecting their preferences, responding to their wishes.
• Focus on strengths- It refers to acknowledging their strengths and developing a patient specific strength-based approach using their skills to build their resilience and confidence.
• Holistic and personalized care- It refers to catering to a patient’s needs by providing personalized care. It involves understanding their cultural values, beliefs and the community he/she belongs to, understanding cultural impact on peoples’ minds and supporting their goals of recovery.
• Family, carers, support people and significant others- It refers to utilising the already existing support system of patients such as their significant others, family members and their carers, to assist the healthcare providers in making appropriate patient-centered plans.
• Community participation and citizenship- It refers to supporting the mentally ill to participate socially and encouraging them to build relationship with other people.
• Responsiveness to diversity- It refers to understanding varied cultures and demonstrating respectful behaviour towards patients having varied cultural backgrounds, to avoid hurting their sentiments.
• Reflection and learning- It refer to the need of the healthcare providers to improve their basic skills every day and keep an open mind toward learning new things Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper.

The core principles of the Mental Health Act (2014) related to the recovery-oriented practice are-

• To assess and provide treatment in the least restrictive and intrusive way. It prioritizes voluntary treatment over compulsory treatment. It aims at assessing the mental health issues as well as the risks that can create these problems. It aims at minimizing the time period taken by compulsory treatment (Maylea & Hirsch, 2017).
• To encourage patients to participate in decision-making processes regarding their health issues. The patients are required to consult and take consent, before their assessment, treatment, and recovery. An assessment order is to be made by the mental healthcare practitioner after assessing the health status of the patient (Vine & Judd, 2019).
• To protect a patient’s rights, autonomy, and dignity at all phases of treatment. Their decisions must be prioritized, and their wishes must always be catered to (Bentwich, Dickman & Oberman, 2017). Their problems must be listened to and responded to by nurses. They should also reflect after listening to them to show respect.
• To promote holistic care and support individual needs. Patient-centered care is to be promoted by nurses, after assessing their areas of improvement. The holistic approach refers to the health and well-being of patients as a whole, which includes requires changes in their way of living which affects mental health.
• To protect and prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children and young adolescents. Child abuse and neglect must be addressed as it affects their mental health and the nurses should take up the responsibility of reporting such incidents to the local authority (Lines, Hutton & Grant, 2017).
• To recognize and support carers in the care and treatment of patients. As they understand their patients better, they must be involved in the recovery process of patients (Happell et al., 2017)Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper.

The consumer scenario chosen by me is the scenario of Felicity and the three recovery-oriented domains chosen from the Framework for recovery-oriented practice (Department of Health, 2011) are-

• Promoting a culture of hope;
• Focus on strengths;
• Holistic and personalized care.

The mental health status of Felicity has prompted me to choose these three domains to apply in my nursing practice in order to provide care and improve her condition.

Felicity, a young university student, does not feel the need to survive, which is quite apparent from her statement and her behavior of hampering her health through intentional paracetamol overdose. In this case, it is necessary to ignite the hope of living within her. Understanding a patient’s psychology is an important aspect of tackling mental health issues. Hence, I will be required to keep myself updated on the latest techniques for identifying a patient’s thought processes through her attitude and behaviour. Being a responsible nurse, I can share stories of patients who had mental health issues similar to hers, and who did not give up hope of recovery. I need to emphasize more on successes and achievements of recovery of other people facing a similar issue (Department of Health, 2011). This will inspire her and help me build an effective relationship of trust with her. This will allow her to communicate comfortably with me, whenever she feels like harming herself. Uribe, Espejo & da Silva Pedroso (2020) emphasized promoting optimism to improve mental health status. I will use optimistic language while talking to her, to divert her mind off negative thoughts. I will be required to keep a strong and positive attitude in front of her to radiate positivity whenever I will be around her. To create a suitable environment to support her recovery, I can get in touch with her family members and explain her health condition to them. I can persuade her step-father and mother to visit her and provide moral support to her in a time of crisis. I would be required to check on her behavior every now and then, to detect signs of improvement. It is expected that a positive environment will help promote hope and self-determination for recovery within her and improve her attitude and outlook toward life.

The focus of Felicity must be shifted from negative thoughts to positive ones by focusing on her areas of strength (Frost et al., 2017). Her talents are music and she is also good at academics. These can keep her mind off negativity and build her confidence and resilience. Waldemar et al. (2019) emphasize encouraging the patient’s hobbies, so, I can encourage her to take up music as her hobby. As she is a university dropout, I can motivate her in getting readmission so that she can focus on her studies. Readmission can also promote her involvement in the university band. I should also support her in overcoming the past trauma and emphasize celebrating her achievements and successes in life (Department of Health, 2011). I can remind her of her academic achievements, that she is one of a kind and had received an award as the highest achieving student, during her years at the university. I should ask her about other things she liked to do in childhood as well, and encourage her to practice those in her everyday life. As a responsible nurse, I should take a strength-based approach to rectify her situation. She also has been involved in social work, hence, her ideas of bringing changes to society should be encouraged. As long as she is being monitored within the healthcare organization, her consent should be taken before engaging her in any activities and her comfort zone should be considered. She should be asked whether she is willing to participate in and try out new activities.

Felicity has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and consults a psychiatrist on a regular interval. Hence, it is apparent that she requires holistic and personalized care to recover and overcome her condition. To focus on her recovery, a multi-dimensional approach is required. A recovery-oriented approach should be taken into account, which not only addresses her mental illnesses but also aids in improving various aspects of her life. This approach is appropriate as it aims to tackle issues that impact their health and wellbeing. Paris (2019) confirmed that this disorder may induce suicidal behaviors or behaviors of self-harm. The disorder affects emotion, cognition, and interpersonal functioning that leads to distress or significant physical impairment. This has been visible in Felicity, as she tried to harm herself with a paracetamol overdose. According to the authors, psychotherapy can provide a valid solution to the issue. Chanen et al. (2020) has also supported the fact that psychotherapy can help reduce instances of self-harm. Pharmacological interventions such as the administration of appropriate medications can help reduce depression, stress, and anxiety. These therapies can lift up her mood and encourage her to view life in a positive way. As a registered nurse, I should plan out patient-centered care to support her aspirations. She should also be encouraged to visit her psychiatrist regularly and should be assisted to take psychotherapies. As a registered nurse, I can delegate the task of handling her at times of need when I am not around, to the enrolled nurses or non-mental health providers, provided that they are equally efficient to perform the tasks (Barrow & Sharma, 2018)Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper.

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From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the recovery-oriented practice can help in improving the mental health of patients. The difference between the traditional medical model of care and the recovery-oriented approach is that the former involves the usage of medications to improve patient outcomes while the latter aims at improving lifestyle conditions. The Framework for Recovery-oriented Practice (Department of Health, 2011) and the Mental Health Act (2014) help in defining guidelines for nurses and associated healthcare professionals regarding the process of treatment of the mentally ill patients. They are required to understand patients’ needs, improvise the recovery processes, and implement them effectively in the treatment of such patients Mental Health Disorders Essay Assignment Paper.