The document provides an overview of several topics related to mental health assessment and treatment including:
1) It describes the DSM-IV-TR multiaxial system for assessing mental disorders and relevant medical, psychosocial, and functional factors.
2) It summarizes Freudian psychoanalytic theory including concepts like the id, ego, superego, defense mechanisms, and the goals of psychoanalysis.
3) It outlines several other major theories in psychology like Erikson's stages of development and cognitive-behavioral theories.
4) It reviews several classes of psychotropic medications including antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, antianxiety drugs, and stimulants.
2. The DSM-IV-TR
Multiaxial System p 13-15
Axis I: Mental disorder that is the focus of
treatment
Axis II: Personality disorders and mental
retardation
Axis III: General medical disorder relevant
to the mental disorder in axis I
Axis IV: Psychosocial and environmental
problems
Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning
(GAF)
2
3. Stem: Unresolved issues in childhood
Levels of awareness
◦ Conscious
◦ Preconscious
◦ Unconscious
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
3
4. Personality structure
◦ Id
Pleasure principle
Reflex action
Primary process
◦ Ego
Problem solver
Reality tester
◦ Superego
Moral component
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
Continued
4
5. Defense mechanisms and anxiety
◦ Operate on unconscious level
◦ Deny, falsify, or distort reality to make it
less threatening
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
Continued
5
6. Attentive listening
Transference and countertransference
Therapy: psychoanalysis (lengthy) , free
association, dream analysis, focuses on
here and now
Brief psychotherapy
Freudian Theory and Nursing
6
7. Eight stages of development
◦ Personality continues to develop through old
age
Failures at one stage can be rectified at
another stage
Table p 29
Erikson's Ego Theory
7
8. Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (Ellis)
◦ Perception influences thoughts which influence
behavior
◦ Aims to eradicate irrational beliefs
◦ Recognize thoughts that are not accurate
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Beck)
◦ Test distorted beliefs and change way of
thinking; reduce symptoms
◦ Automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions
◦ Table p 36
Cognitive Theories
8
9. GABA is an inhibitory (calming)
neurotransmitter in the CNS
Benzodiazepines (potentiate GABA)
◦ Diazepam (Valium)
◦ Clonazepam (Klonopin)
◦ Alprazolam (Xanax)
◦ Lorazepam (Ativan)
Antianxiety and Hypnotic Drugs
9
10. ◦ Flurazepam (Dalmane)
◦ Temazepam (Restoril)
◦ Triazolam (Halcion)
◦ Estazolam (ProSom)
◦ Quazepam (Doral)
◦ Patient teaching: Avoid heavy
machinery, limit use due to tolerance and
dependence, do not mix with alcohol or other
depressants
Antianxiety and Hypnotic Drugs
Continued
10
11. Short-Acting Sedative-Hypnotic Sleep Agents
(“Z-hypnotics”)
◦ Zolpidem (Ambien)
◦ Zaleplon (Sonata)
◦ Eszopiclone (Lunesta)
◦ Patient teaching: Quick action – take
immediately before retiring, short half-
lives, may cause bad taste upon awakening
Antianxiety and Hypnotic Drugs
Continued
11
12. Melatonin Receptor Agonist
(Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the
pineal gland that regulates circadian
rhythm)
◦ Ramelteon (Rozerem) – low abuse potential,
not restricted to short-term use
◦ Buspirone (BuSpar) – not a CNS depressant,
less potential for addiction
Antianxiety and Hypnotic Drugs
Continued
12
13. Antidepressant Drugs
Typical or standard antidepressants
◦ Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) block
the reuptake of norepinephrine and
serotonin
◦ Amitriptyline (Elavil)
◦ Imipramine (Tofranil)
◦ Nortriptyline (Pamelor)
◦ Cause anticholinergic side
effects, sedation, drowsiness, and
can cause death
13
14. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs)
◦ Fluoxetine (Prozac)
◦ Sertraline (Zoloft)
◦ Paroxetine (Paxil)
◦ Citalopram (Celexa)
◦ Escitalopram (Lexapro)
◦ Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
◦ Less lethal, no anticholinergic SE or
sedation, cause apathy, low libido, n/v
Antidepressant Drugs
Continued
14
15. Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake
Inhibitors (SNRIs)
◦ Venlafaxine (Effexor)
◦ Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
◦ Can cause hypertension and lower seizure
threshold
Antidepressant Drugs
Continued
15
16. Serotonin-Norepinephrine Disinhibitors
(SNDIs)
◦ Mirtazapine (Remeron)
◦ Has antiemetic properties also. Causes
sedation and weight gain (good for anorexics)
Antidepressant Drugs
Continued
16
17. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
(Monoamine oxidase is the enzyme that
metabolizes norepinephrine. To inhibit it allows a
consistent level of norepi at the synapse.)
◦ Phenelzine (Nardil)
◦ Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
◦ Selegiline (ENSAM)
◦ Seldom used due to dietary restriction of
tyramine (with drug causes hypertensive crisis)
Must avoid aged cheeses, pickles, smoked fish,
wine
Antidepressant Drugs
Continued
17
18. Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban)
◦ Can cause seizures, weight loss, and
sexual dysfunction
Trazodone (Desyrel)
◦ Can cause priapism; given at night due to
sedation
Other Antidepressant Drugs
18
19. Mood Stabilizers
Lithium (reduces overactivity of neurons
in brain)
◦ Dosing based on serum drug levels
(monitored q week)
◦ Serum level should be 1.0 mEq/L
◦ Less than 0.5 mEq/L is subtherapeutic
◦ More than 1.5 mEq/L is toxic
◦ Greater than 3.0 mEq/L requires
dialysis stat
19
20. Common side effects
◦ Mild nausea, diarrhea, anorexia
◦ Fine hand tremor
◦ Polydipsia and polyuria
◦ Metallic taste in mouth
◦ Weight gain
◦ Acne
Lithium
20
21. Toxic side effects
◦ Severe diarrhea
◦ Vomiting
◦ Drowsiness
◦ Muscle weakness
◦ Lack of coordination
◦ Can lead to renal failure and death
Lithium
21
22. Anticonvulsant drugs
◦ Valproate (Depakote, Depakene)
Causes wt gain, sedation, thrombocytopenia,
liver & renal problems
Requires bloodwork (CBC & liver) before
starting and periodically while on meds
◦ Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Same SE as above plus anticholinergic SE and
rash
Requires ongoing labs to monitor CBC, liver
function and drug level (below 12 mcg/mL)
22
23. ◦ Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
Watch for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
◦ Gabapentin (Neurontin)
◦ Topiramate (Topamax)
Can cause blindness, weight loss, kidney stones
◦ Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
Anticonvulsants (mania)
23
25. Antipsychotics
Treats positive symptoms of schizophrenia
(delusions, hallucinations)
Side effects include extrapyramidal
symptoms
(parkisonism, akinesia, akathisia, dyskinesi
a, and tardive dyskinesia)
Monitor SE with Simpson scale (for acute
SE) or Abnormal Involuntary Movement
(AIMS)
Treat with benztropine
(Cogentin), trihexyphenidyl
(Artane), diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Depot form
25
26. Binds to dopamine receptors in the limbic
system
◦ Decreased motor side effects and EPS
◦ Increases the risk of metabolic syndrome with
wt gain, hyperglycemia and increased
triglycerides. (Can cause insulin resistance)
Can cause sedation
◦ Clozaril causes agranulocytosis and requires
weekly CBCs to get meds
Atypical Antipsychotics
(Second-Generation)
26
28. Other Drugs
For Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) – Psychostimulants
Block reuptake of norepinephrine and
release monoamines that act as agonists
at adrenergic receptor sites-
sympathomimetics.
SE include decreased appetite, wt loss,
growth suppression
28
30. For Alzheimer's Disease
cholinesterase inhibitors
◦ Tacrine (Cognex)
hepatotoxic
◦ Donepezil (Aricept)
◦ Revastigmine (Exelon)
◦ Galantamine (Reminyl)
◦ Memantine (Namenda) – works as glutamate
antagonist
Other Drugs
30
31. Admissions reserved for
◦ Suicidal
◦ Homicidal or
◦ Unable to care for basic needs (thus
endangering self)
◦ Outpatient therapy is ineffective
Inpatient Psychiatric Care
31
32. Inpatient Psychiatric Care
Admission options
◦ Direct admission
◦ Hospital emergency department
Criteria to justify admissions
◦ Danger to self or others or unable to
care for basic needs
Voluntary or involuntary
32
33. Hospitalized patients retain their rights as
citizens. They have the right to:
◦ Vote
◦ Receive, forfeit or deny a driver’s license
◦ Make purchases and enter contraction
relationships (unless incompetent)
◦ Press charges against another person
◦ Humane care and treatment (least
restrictive)
◦ Due process
Patient Rights
33
34. They have the right to:
◦ Religious freedom and practice
◦ Social interaction
◦ Exercise and participate in recreational
opportunities
◦ Refuse treatment
◦ Informed consent
◦ Freedom from seclusion and restraint
◦ Confidentiality
Patient Rights
34
35. Exceptions to the rule
◦ Duty to warn and protect third parties
◦ Child and elder abuse reporting statutes
Confidentiality
35
36. Review nonverbal communication patterns
on p 105 for cultural variances
37. Assess general appearance
◦ Dress, hygiene, grooming
◦ Appropriate for age? Setting? Weather?
◦ Is the person disheveled? Unkempt?
◦ Does the person appear their stated age?
◦ How is the person’s posture? Eye contact?
Facial expressions?
Mental Status Exam
37
38. Assess motor behavior
◦ Automatisms
◦ Psychomotor retardation
◦ Waxy flexibility
◦ Speech (Do they clang? Do they create
neologisms?)
MSE
38
39. Assess mood and affect
◦ Mood – emotional state
◦ Affect – outward expression of mood
◦ Look for consistency between verbal and
nonverbal communication
◦ Ask patient to rate his mood on a scale of 1-10
MSE
39
40. ◦ Is affect blunted?
◦ Is affect flat?
◦ Does patient have an inappropriate affect?
◦ Is affect restricted?
◦ Is affect labile?
MSE
40
41. Assess thought process and content
◦ Can patient stay on track with thoughts?
◦ What is the content of patient’s thoughts?
◦ Listen for themes
◦ Assess if patient makes sense? Are ideas
related? Do they flow logically so you can
follow the conversation?
MSE
41
47. Assess for neurovegetative changes
◦ Changes in eating or sleeping habits
◦ Weight gained or lost
◦ Hours slept per night
MSE
47
48. Needs of patient identified and explored
Clear boundaries established
Problem-solving approaches taken
New coping skills developed
Behavioral change encouraged
Nurses needs are met outside of the
relationship
Therapeutic Relationships
48
49. Transference – patient unconsciously
displaces onto individual in current life
emotions and behaviors from childhood
that originated in relationships with
significant others
◦ Transference intensified with person in
authority in current life
Blurring of Roles
49
50. Countertransference – nurse displaces
feelings related to people in nurse’s past
onto patient
◦ Patient’s transference to nurse often results in
countertransference in nurse
◦ Common sign of countertransference in nurse is
overidentification with the patient
Blurring of Roles
Continued
50
51. Orientation phase
Working phase
Termination phase
Peplau’s Model of Nurse-Patient
Relationship
51
52. Tools for enhancing communication
◦ Using silence
◦ Active listening
◦ Listening with empathy
◦ p 181-185
Therapeutic Communication
Techniques
52
55. Excessive questioning
Giving approval or disapproval
Giving advice
Asking “why” questions
Nontherapeutic Communication
Techniques
55
56. Autism
More common in males; more severe in girls
Cause may be related to immunizations
Present by early childhood (age 3)
Little eye contact, few facial expressions, doesn’t
communicate verbally or with gestures, doesn’t
relate to peers or parents, lacks spontaneous
enjoyment, cannot engage in make believe with
toys.
May exhibit hand flapping, body twisting, head
banging
Autism may improve if language skills improve
Traits persist into adulthood
56
57. Short term care: decrease child’s level of
anxiety (private room, touch as little as
possible, minimize time in
room, encourage parents to stay, bring in
familiar objects from home, keep
communication brief and
concrete, maintain a predictable schedule
as close to home as possible)
Autism (cont)
57
58. Long term care: encourage social
interactions, foster development of
communication skills, encourage
development of self control, provide
opportunities for development of
psychomotor skills.
Autism (cont.)
58
60. Fidgets constantly
Makes excessive noise
Normal environmental noises are
distracting
Cannot listen to directions or complete
tasks
Blurts out answers before questions are
completed
Symptoms
60
61. Hurried, careless mistakes in schoolwork
Loses or forgets homework assignments
Fails to follow directions
Peers may ostracize
Temper tantrums especially when young
Symptoms (cont)
61
63. Help parents cope
Teach parents: structure, limits, &
consistency are key
Provide consistent rewards and
consequences for behavior
Offer consistent praise
Use time-out
Strategies
63
64. Give verbal reprimands
Issue daily report card for behavior
Use a point system for positive and
negative behaviors
Teach coping skills (Stop & Think)
Teach social skills
Don’t talk about symptoms or illness in
front of child or child will see self as sick
64
65. Role play ways to cope with stressful
events
Have child discuss and examine
consequences of his/her behavior
65
66. Structure, limits and consistency
Daily schedule
Limit setting
Behavioral contracts
Time out or loss of privileges
Tough love
Individual therapy for child; family therapy
Treatment for
Oppositional/Defiant Disorder and
Conduct Disorder
66
67. Depression is often just seen as misbehavior or
irritability
Anhedonia is losing interest in things that once
child was passionate about
Children & adolescents will give away prized
possessions when suicidal
Copy cat suicides are common; quick
intervention needs to occur following a suicide
Bipolar disorder is hard to differentiate from
ADHD
Mood disorders
67
68. Anxiety is part of normal development
Anxiety is a problem when:
◦ An individual fails to move beyond the fears
associated with a particular problem
◦ It interferes with normal functioning over an
extended period of time
Two anxiety disorders of children and
adolescents:
◦ Separation anxiety disorder
◦ Posttraumatic stress disorder
Anxiety Disorders
68
69. Separation Anxiety Disorder and
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Continued
Implementation
Protect child from panic levels of anxiety.
Provide emotional support to help child
progress developmentally.
Increase child's self-esteem and feelings of
competence.
Help child accept and work through traumatic
event.
Teach coping skills.
Cognitive therapy
◦ Focused on underlying fears and concerns
69
70. Results: hypothalamus triggers adrenal
glands to release adrenalin which
increases SNS activity (e.g. tachycardia,
tachypnea, hypertension, dilated pupils,
blood shunted away from GI and GU tracts
to muscles); hypothalamus causes adrenal
cortex to release steroids to increase
muscle endurance/stamina and mobilizes
glucose in bloodstream, but also inhibits
reproduction, growth and immunity.
Endorphins are released to reduce
sensitivity to pain/injury.
70
71. Interaction between nervous system and
immune system during alarm phase of
GAS
Negatively affects body’s ability to
produce protective factors
Immune Stress Responses
71
74. Mild anxiety
Moderate anxiety
Severe anxiety
Panic
Levels of Anxiety
74
75. Defense mechanisms (p 215-217)
◦ Automatic coping styles
◦ Protect people from anxiety
◦ Maintain self-image by blocking
feelings
conflicts and
memories
◦ Can be healthy or unhealthy
Defenses Against Anxiety
75
76. Specific phobias p 220
Social phobia or social anxiety disorder
(SAD)
Phobias
76
77. Obsessions
◦ Thoughts, impulses, or images that persist and
recur, so that they cannot be dismissed from the
mind
Compulsions
◦ Ritualistic behaviors an individual feels driven to
perform in an attempt to reduce anxiety
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD) p 221
77
78. Flashbacks
Avoidance of stimuli associated
with trauma
Experience of persistent numbing
of responses
Persistent symptoms of increased arousal
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
78
79. Basic Level
Nursing Interventions
Do not set limits on rituals at first
Teach relaxation exercises and practice them
Explore coping behaviors that have worked in
the past
Decrease environmental stimuli
Channel anxiety into physical activity
Communicate with firm, short, simple
statements and repetition
Remain calm; stay with patient with severe
anxiety
79
80. Promote self-care activities
Reinforce reality
Attend to physical needs (limit caffeine)
Later, set limits on rituals while helping
patient use relaxation (i.e. postpone
performance of ritual by 5 minutes, then
10 minutes, while using relaxation)
Pharmacological interventions
Health teaching
80
85. Cluster A Personality Disorders
Eccentric and odd behavior
Unusual levels of suspiciousness
Magical thinking
Cognitive impairment
Examples
◦ Paranoid PD p 436
◦ Schizoid PD p 436
◦ Schizotypal PD p 436
85
86. Cluster B Personality Disorders
• Dramatic, emotional, erratic
behavior
• Problems with impulse control
• Examples
– Antisocial PD p 437
– Borderline PD p 437
– Histrionic PD p 439
– Narcissistic PD p 439
86
87. Cluster C Personality Disorders
Anxious or fearful behavior
Rigid patterns of social shyness
Examples
◦ Avoidant PD p 440
◦ Dependent PD p 441
◦ Obsessive-compulsive PD p 441
87
88. Interventions
Basic level interventions
◦ Milieu management
(structure, limits, confrontation and
consistency) Watch for splitting
◦ Pharmacological interventions
◦ Case management
◦ Limit setting
◦ Interventions for aggressive behavior
◦ Interventions for impulsive behavior
88
89. Somatoform Disorders
Physical symptoms suggest a physical
disorder for which there is no
demonstrable base
Strong presumption that symptoms
linked to psychobiological factors
89