Barriers to Accessing Mental Healthcare
Discuss About The Construction Occupational Nursing Diagnosis.
Mental disorders can be characterized as the problems that people are seen to experience with their mind as well as mood. Such health problems can be described as the conditions that involve changed in the emotions, behaviors as well as the thinking procedures. Mental illnesses are seen to be associated with distress and causes severe problems in functioning like that in social, work or family activities (Oates, Drey & Jones, 2017). It has been found that in every year, one in every five Australians will experience a particular mental illness. Researchers are of the opinion that mental illness has become the third leading cause of the global burden in the nation of Australia and is seen to account for about an estimated 27% of the total years that are lost due to disability. Statistical analysis had shown that the prevalence of the mental illness can decrease with age and the prevalence is mainly seen to be highest among the group cohort of 18 to 24 years old. A national survey had also stated that only 355 of the patients suffering with the mental health disorders had used the healthcare services and only 29% have consulted within the 12 months of the survey (Yamaguchi et al., 2018). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the healthcare organizations to develop more awareness among the communities to seek for healthcare services when affected by mental disorders. However, many of the studies have even suggested that most of the patients with common mental health disorders like expression, anxiety disorders and others are even not aware that they are affected by a disorder. As a result, they are seen to develop poor quality lives. The healthcare organizations should undertake mental healthcare assessments by which they can identify the disorders and develop interventions that can effectively help patients to overcome the symptoms. This assignment will mainly provide more light on competent mental health assessment tactics and the skills and knowledge that need to be required by professionals to conduct assessment that help in supporting holistic wellness for the consumers.
After thorough analysis of the various papers conducted because of literature search, it was found that, a number of factors prevent the mental health patients from taking help from the mental healthcare professionals and their organization. The first one is the stigma related with concept of mental health. Mental health patients suffer from stigmas that are exhibited by the society. Misconceptions about mental health disorders results many of the members of the society to exclude such patients that make the later suffer from depression (Martesnon et al., 2014). The fear of social exclusion and discrimination prevents the patients from openly discussing about their health issues with family members, friends and others. These result them in not taking help from the healthcare centers when they feel mentally ill. Another barrier to accessing healthcare in case of mental illness is the lack of knowledge and awareness about mental health symptoms. In many cases , it is found that the individuals are not even aware that they are suffering from problems with their mental health and confuse the symptoms with disabilities, stress, unhappiness, grief, failures and others (Wynaden et al., 2014). Hence, healthcare promotion programs developing the awareness about mental health issues and their successful treatments as well as effective person centered care to the patient overcoming the barriers of stigmatization and discrimination is extremely important for the healthcare professionals (Powell et al., 2015).
Importance of Mental Health Assessments
While providing holistic care to the mental health patients, I believe that mental health assessment and screening are the vital steps for taking the charge of the mental health and well-being of the patients. In this step, the most important aspect that the healthcare professionals should ensure is the effective collaboration with the client so that the professionals can not only know about the signs and symptoms faced by the patient but also becomes aware of the background of the patient (Kane, 2015). Background screening helps the professionals to develop ideas about the different social, psychological as well as biological determinants that are resulting in creating of poor mental health issues in the patients. Therefore mental health assessment mainly comprise of mental health screenings are typical checklists or questionnaires that helps patients to consider symptoms and understand whether they are experiencing the said symptoms or are not going through such symptoms. I have realized that screening tests not actually help in diagnosis of mental disorders but they are mainly powerful as tools that help the healthcare professionals to understand completely about the mental health condition of the patients. Mental health screening and assessments are mainly completed early in the therapeutic processes and they are helpful in a number of ways (buus et al., 2018). The mental health assessments help in identification of the symptoms and problems that are faced by the patients. These assessments mainly lay the foundation of development of the mental health treatment plan by the healthcare professionals ensuring application of evidence-based practices. It also helps in effective diagnosis and decision-making capability of the patients. It also helps in effective identification of the strengths of the clients and even helps in the measurement of the achievement of the goals. Many of the researchers also have stated that a mental health assessment helps in examining the progress and thereby helps in promoting the positive changes. Different types of mental health assessment tools are available (Cutler et al., 2015). These may be observation when the professional watches, listens and make notes of the patient’s issues. Interviews with the patient and with the patient’s family, checklists, rating scales, questionnaires and standardized tests are the others modes of mental health assessment which the professionals can conduct to gather information (Muskett, 2014).
I believe that only the above-mentioned information may not help healthcare professionals to develop effective therapeutic relationship with the mental health patients. Often, it is seen that the patients with mental health disorder suffer from depression and anxiety about their state of health. The main contributors for this are discrimination as well as stigmatization by the society. Moreover, it was also found that the patients fear to disclose their issues openly with the professionals with the fear of being judged or discriminated by the professionals (clement et al., 2015). The fear of inappropriate behavior from the professionals may make them conceal information or may make them remain silent where they fail to pour their hearts out. In such situation, the mental health assessment would be only successful with proper results when the professional becomes successful in gaining trust from the patients and can develop string bonding with the patient effectively. When the interaction with the patient depends on mutual trust, the patient would be able to reveal information that would help the professional to identify the correct contributor for the ill mental health (Grant, 2014). Compassion and empathy are the two other attributes that help in development of a therapeutic relationship with the patient. The patient starts to believe that the professionals can understand their issues from their point of view and this helps them to confide in the professionals. Once the patients start believing that the professionals are genuinely concerned about them and caring for them to help them come out from the negative phase, they will be seen to be more helpful and compliant in the mental health assessment period. More the extrovertness developed by the patient in the mental health assessment period, the better will be the outcomes as the professionals would be able to gather enough information that would help them understand the scenarios resulting in development of the disorders (Crowe et al., 2015). These would help them develop a comprehensive care plan that would help the patients to overcome the negative symptoms they are facing and develop better quality lives.
Developing a Therapeutic Relationship with Patients
I believe one of the most important attribute of the professionals that may ensure that the patient feel comfortable in the presence of the professional and participates in the mental health assessment whole-heartedly is to accept the patient as he is. It is indeed true that acceptance conveys the feelings of being loved and cared and being non-judgmental. The professionals should develop the attribute of acceptance that does not necessarily mean complete permissiveness but ensures setting of positive behaviors that help in conveying to patients respect, autonomy and dignity as individual human being (Manuel & Crowe, 2014). The professional should never judge the behavior of the patient as right or wrong and should never reject the patient id he or she behaves in a way that is contrary to her expectations. One of the most important parts of being acceptable is to be an effective listener. The professionals should take enough time and energy to listen what the patient is trying to state and at the same time try to critically observe the body language and non-verbal communication mediums (Wynaden et al., 2016). This attribute has two outcomes. It helps the professionals to understand what the patient wants to express and at the same time when the patient feels uninterrupted and is being seriously listened at, he feels that the professionals is respecting his narration and is genuinely interested in their problems. All these not only help in effective mental health assessment but would also help in development of confidence and trust on the professional. Many of the researchers are of the opinion that giving reassurances to the patients after understanding and analyzing the situation helps patients to feel secured and comfortable and this has positive impacts on the patients (Tosanagwam et al., 2016).
In order to ensure holistic support for the professionals, it is extremely important for the healthcare professionals to conduct mental health assessments in ways by which they are able to know about not only the biological factors but also the different social as psychological factors that are resulting in the occurrences of the symptoms of the patients. Moreover, the professionals should also need to understand the different determinants that may result in poor health like education, income, health literacy, personal relations, professional work and many others. Detailed information about all these factors may help the professionals to link the different dots and thereby come to a conclusion about the main contributors to mental health. A successful mental health assessment would then help the professionals to develop pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments that would help in overcoming the symptoms (Montrueil et al., 2015). However, these two approaches may help in overcoming the symptoms of mental health issues but are not sufficient for developing better quality health of the patients. Developing interventions for addressing the different determinants of health also needs to be addressed by the mental healthcare professionals so that roots of the causes of the disorder can be handled effectively and better quality life are experienced by the patients (Conlon et al., 2015).
However, the mental health professionals should be well aware of the principles of the recovery oriented mental healthcare services so that the mental health assessments that they undertake become successful and at the same time ensure successful participation from the patients. The first principle is ensuring the uniqueness of the individuals. The professionals should make sure that their main aim of the mental health assessment should not be only about care but ensure that the patients are getting opportunities for choices and thereby can live a meaningful, satisfying and purposeful life. The second principle is to give them real choices. The professionals should empower individuals in ways by which they can successfully make their own choices and take responsibility of their own lives (Telenius et al., 2015). The third principle that the professionals should follow during mental health assessment is maintaining the proper attitudes and rights where they can effectively listen to, learn from and act upon the communications from the patients and their caregivers. The professionals should also maintain the fourth principle called the dignity and respect. The professionals need to be careful that in order to provide holistic support to the patients, the behavior of the professional should be courteous, respectful as well as honest in all the interactions. Sensitivity and respect for the individuals and respecting their values, beliefs and cultures also have positive outcome on their health. The fifth principle is one of the most important principle that every of the professionals should inculcate in their practices. This is effective communication and partnership. The professionals should make sure that they are able to engage in effective communication with the patient with compassion and empathy ensuring trust with the patient and thereby involving the patient in effective partnership. Making the patient and his family the centre of decision making and ensuring effective therapeutic communication with them, the professionals may make them feel empowered and thereby help in working towards realizing their own hopes, goals and aspirations (Scwindt & McNeils, 2015). Another of the principle that should be also incorporated in the practice of the patient is evaluation of the recovery. The professionals should ensure continuous evaluation of the recovery based practices through proper mental health assessments. The mental health professionals, in order to support a holistic care to the patients should also undertake the evaluation of the housing, education, employment as well as social and family relationships besides health conditions. Successful assessment and evaluation of these factors help in ensuring that the professionals are taking care of all the determinants and factors that may be responsible for affecting the quality of life of the patients and hence ensure best outcomes of the patient. I have understood that persons who are receiving the mental health services should be provided with assessments and treatments in one of the least restrictive ways possible with the best preferences for the voluntary assessments and treatments. One thing should always be kept in mind that persons who are receiving mental health services should be provided with those services that mainly aim in the bringing of the best possible therapeutic outcomes and should be promoting recovery as well as the full participation in the community life (Jones et al., 2016). Therefore when I will be conducting mental health assessments, I should develop the above mentioned skills, knowledge and attributes and provide care that not only cures the symptoms abut ensure a holistic support for better quality living.
From the entire discussion above, I have realized that mental health patients often go through a negative phase of their life mainly due to discrimination, stigmatization, ill behaviors, bullying and others. These make them conceal their disorders from the society with the fear of social exclusion. Many of them even do not understand that they are suffering from ill mental health and they need service. In such a situation, I as a mental healthcare professional should undertake mental health assessments in ways by which I can empower the patients and make them develop hope for better living. Developing acceptance for uniqueness of individuals, being non-judgmental, developing empathy and compassion are some of the capabilities that will ensure development of trust between the patient and me. I will include the patient and his family members in effective partnership and engage them in a therapeutic relationship by communicating with them and respecting their autonomy and dignity. I will mainly try to analyze the social, psychological as well as the biological determinists of health to understand the additional support they require besides the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. Following the recovery oriented mental healthcare principles; I will successfully conduct mental health assessment and ensure best care to patients.
References:
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