Clinical Topics - Mental Health
Imaginary Audience / Personal Fable - Just a Phase or More?
Tags: adolescents development disorder mental health
Presents the question: Is the imaginary audience/ personal fable stage of development a hypothetical concept, a normal stage of development, a mental disorder, or a precursor of mental health disorders that may come in early adulthood?
Read More →
Clinical Depression vs. Layman's' Depression: What Nurses Need to Know
Tags: depression mental health symptoms
The general term depressed used by laymen doesn't match the medical definition used by Nursing. How to distinguish the two.
Read More →
The SSRI debate -Some thoughts
Tags: depression Psychiatry serotonin SSRI
The article takes a look at the the debate over whether depression is caused by reduced serotonin or a combination of other factors.
Read More →
The role of Sunlight, Vitamin D and nature in aiding cognition in mental health
Tags: mental health sunlight vitamin d
Studies have found that low levels of Vitamin D leads to slower information processing, cognitive decline, mood disorders, and altered brain development and functioning that leads to medical issues and neuro-degenerative disorders.(1) When the patients of yesteryear were kept inside we were unwittingly worsening their mental health. How can we now aid our mental and cognitive health by using sunlight and food based Vitamin D?
Read More →
Positive Psychology in psychiatric and mental health nursing practice
Tags: emotions mental health Mental Illness Psychiatry psychology
Traditionally psychiatric practice has focused on treating mental illness and what is wrong with people. Treating the symptoms of mental illness can vastly improve quality of life and functioning but the absence of a mental illness does not guarantee a life of well-being or happiness. The billable codes of the DSM-5 are utilized to identify mental illness. It does not have a code or the listing of values for the symptoms or strengths in flourishing or a well meaning life. To combat this issue positive psychology and psychiatry has addressed this issue.
Read More →
Ethical considerations for the mentally unwell in a global pandemic
Tags: coronavirus COVID-19 ethical principles ethical principles in nursing ethical standards ethical values ethics Mental Illness nursing ethics Pandemic
A case review on a mentally Ill patient during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More →
Why is Psychiatry so Taboo?
Tags: culture Mental Illness Psychiatry stigma
In almost every society, psychiatry has an adverse stigma attached to it. Any form of mental illness is perceived as a sign of weakness. In some cultures, psychiatry is not considered an important or prestigious form of medicine. To acknowledge the importance of psychotherapy is to recognize that the members of the society may have some mental abnormality. There is a thin line between sanity and insanity. So to concede that something is wrong with one' relatives is the admittance that one may be inflicted with the same disorder.
Read More →
Health and Wellbeing: A Student Nurse's Perspective
Tags: assertiveness health mental health Nurse Education stress student nurse students undergraduate wellbeing
This essay discusses health and well-being as multifaceted concepts and explores how my health and wellbeing has been affected since becoming a student nurse. This essay also discusses the importance of maintaining good health and wellbeing in relation to self-care and patient care.
Read More →
I Will Not Die But Live!
Tags: advanced practice advice advocacy advocate bullying child culture depression emergency emergency department Emergency nurse Emergency Nurses heart attack investigation love medication mental health patient safety stress treatment Whistleblowers work environment wound care
Since leaving nursing in 2008 I have wanted to write about my experiences as an emergency nurse and what happened to me as a whistleblower. This is my story.
Read More →
Practicing Holistic Nursing as Intensive Case Management
Tags: advanced practice aging behavior Case Study emergency room Health Promotion holistic nursing methods mental health Mental Illness professional rn Psychiatry requirements treatment
Case study describing management of mentally ill client using holistic nursing methods.
Read More →
Was “Winnie-the-Pooh” mentally ill? An Interesting Assignment to Learn about Mental Illness
Tags: mental health Mental Illness wellbeing wellness
When you assess and analyze some of our favorite childhood cartoon characters some of them display signs and symptoms of mental illness. This assignment engages students to learn about what defining characteristics to look for when assessing patients for mental disorders and just how subliminal messages especially those that are negative can be harmful to our well-being.
Read More →
When Doing The Right Thing Leads to the Wrong Results
Tags: Case Study errors medication medication errors mental health prescriptions punishment termination due to medication error
Reprimanding nurses for medication errors contibutes to a culture of evasion and silence and does not address the reason behind the mistake.
Read More →
Tourette’s Syndrome: Implications for a Moving Disorder
Tags: Psychiatry Tourettes Syndrome treatment
This article highlights the subjective, objective and recommended nursing treatment for Tourette's syndrome.
Read More →
A Competent Psychiatric Nurse: What role does empathy provide in competency?
Tags: caring caring in nursing Competency Empathy mental health Mental Illness Psychiatry
The fundamental foundation in initiating competent skills as a psychiatric nurse is similar to any specialty in nursing. We must implement the necessary processes of providing the standard of care by using the method known as the nursing process. To successfully implement these steps it is necessary to seek understanding of the clients’ individuality which takes effort, establishment of rapport, and time. Empathy is an essential factor to obtain accurate data, individualize interventions, and best outcomes addressing the clients’ uniqueness. As a psychiatric nurse one noted that empathy plays a significant role in providing competent care and optimizing positive outcomes for my acute mentally ill clients.
Read More →
Successful Aging For Canada's LGBT Older Adults
Tags: aging caregiver discrimination gay health care professionals lesbian LGBT LGBTQ mental health nursing older adults transgender
A research paper I wrote for my BSN degree regarding how health care services, particularly nursing can accommodate older adult members of the LGBT community and provide safe and best practice care.
Read More →
Barriers to Patients Undergoing Methadone Maintenance Therapy
Tags: addiction mental health methadone opiates therapy treatment treatment options
Methadone maintenance therapy is one method utilized to combat opioid addiction and is an effective treatment in the abstinence from opiates. The purpose of this article is to communicate comprehensive information to healthcare providers about methadone as a medication, and the treatment guidelines of maintenance programs in the hopes of diminishing the stigma attached to methadone maintenance therapy. Through a comprehensive literature review, information regarding mechanism of action, maintenance therapy program guidelines, different barriers to treatment, and how to overcome these barriers were collected and reviewed.
Read More →
Psychological Factors Affecting Eating Habits Among Nurses in General Hospitals
Tags: eating habits general hospital nurses psychological factors psychology
Obesity and overweight are more frequent in workers working in shift and psychological distress increased among working women in Malaysia. A supportive manager and a flexible working time are linked with a decrease of the conflicts between family and work. The purpose of the research was to investigate the patterns of eating habit and its relationship factors, with focus on psychological factor among nurses. A study of 100 nurses was conducted in medical-surgical wards of a public hospital. Data was collected using a cross sectional study using a convenience sampling (non probability). A self-administered questionnaire on eating habits was used, and analyzed using SPSS (version 21). Results: A majority of (89%) participants was from a female group while a number of male participants are only (11%). Majority (86%) responded they ate because of feeling happy followed by eating because of feeling lonely (80%) and most of them did not perceived that they have a healthy eating habits (53%). Conclusions: The findings indicated that employers need to identify physical workload that is acceptable to avoid risks of unhealthy eating habits and monitor the availability of healthy food in the worksite. Keywords: Eating habits,Psychological Factors, working in shifts.
Read More →
Managing behavior in children with ASD
Tags: ASD autism behavior behavioral child children medication mental health pediatric Psychiatry
Unfortunately, many of these children end up in the emergency department for these behaviors due to the lack of community mental health services. These crises visits often times result in unnecessary medications being prescribed for these problematic behaviors.
Read More →
Understanding and Treating Benzodiazepine Dependence; How you as a nurse can best assist the addicted patient
Tags: addiction benzodiazepine emergency emergency room mental health treatment
This article provides information on the symptoms of benzodiazepine dependence, the neurophysiology behind the dependence and how the staff nurse can be part of the treatment involved.
Read More →
Understanding behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Tags: autism autism spectrum disorder behavior behaviors child children medication mental health pediatric Psychiatry
With the rising incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, nurses need to be educated regarding comorbidities that can cause aberrant behaviors. Along with a thorough medical assesment, finding mental health services can be challenging for many families. Many PCP's and other non-mental health professionals take on medication management of behaviors due to the lack of appropriate mental health resources.
Read More →
Mental Health Need Assessment Tool
Tags: assessing mental health status mental health mental health need mental illness patient assessment patient assessment
Patient assessment is the first step in the nursing process. Assessing for mental illness is necessary in order to provide safe and competent care. Using a tool that incorporates Maslow's hierarchy of needs to assess if a patient feels that their needs are being met or not met is a good first step to begin assessing the mental health status of our patients.
Read More →
It Is Time to Openly Assess & Discuss Mental Illness
Tags: assessing mental health status discussions mental health mental health need mental illness patient assessment patient assessment
With the prevalence of mental illness on the rise, nurses in all healthcare settings are going to be tasked with providing care for patients with a mental disorder. Thus, it is necessary to provide nurses with the skills necessary to care for patients with mental illness.
Read More →
Effects of Music Therapy in Pediatric Mental Health
Tags: adolescents effects mental health music therapy pediatric pediatric mental health pediatrics therapy
Whether it is the simple melody of a lullaby to the crashing drums of rock and roll, music evokes an emotion in all of its listeners. Music has been around for centuries creating an environment of healing. When working with pediatric mental health patients, pharmacological interventions are often the solution to manage symptoms and negative feelings.
Read More →
Relationships among the Elderly: The Effects on One’s Health and Psychosocial Well Being
Tags: aging dating elderly health nurse psychosocial relationships
Advances in medicine are allowing many adults to live longer lives than previous generations. In fact, the elderly population is becoming one of the largest growing sectors of the present population. Recently, researchers have begun studying what factors contribute to successful aging. These studies are showing that the impact of family and social relationships plays an important part in one’s health and psychosocial well being. People can get lonely, so dating for seniors could be a great boost for their psychological well being.
Read More →
End-Of-Life-Care: Are Nurses Educationally Prepared?
Tags: care comfort death end of life end-of-life care health medical technology nurse physical health spiritual-psychosocial health
End Of Life Care study in the RN Journal. Are nurses prepared to offer quality end-of-life care to patients and families?
Read More →Get Published for Free
Browse by Tag
advocate aging anesthesia behavior cardiac care Case Study child children clinical compassion COVID-19 death diabetes disease education emergency department end of life ethical principles ethical values ethics family graduates health health care ICU medication mental health nurse Nurse Education nursing nursing education nursing ethics nursing faculty nursing school nursing students PACU patient care patient outcomes patient safety pediatric poem profession risk factors stress student nurse students teaching therapy treatment
Most Popular Last Month
More from RN Journal
Embracing Change
Our Responsibility at Tech-Savvy Nurses
Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and Nursing
A Comet in Siberia: Kate Marsden's epic journey to the outcast Yakut lepers
Why Skin Tears Are a Big Deal
A Difficult Patient
Are New Graduate Nurses Being Taught About the Importance of Nursing Rounds?
The Cost of Caring
Opposite of Burnout is Engagement