Aging, Older Adults and Mental Health: Issues and Opportunities - Essay Example

?Nursing Role in the meeting user needs in my placement Over the years I have come to realize that the people who have come across during my placement have been survivors. More specifically, they were not just survivors of the difficulties that they had faced with regard to mental health, but also survivors in the arena of mental health services. Where at one end, these individuals have been fighting many obstacles to regain their life through the treatments related to mental health and diagnoses, I have been there providing them services so that the mental health of every individual is improved. There have been all kinds of patients around me which took their own time for recovery that had more than a decade for some. Over time I have been able to witness that my role had been from accomplishing individual and group therapy that was set up by interdisciplinary treatment teams to carrying out assessments, revisions, as well as approval. I came to realize that for a practitioner to be successful, he or she must not only be aware of the agency policies that are applicable, the laws that are related to the intended philosophy, and the procedures of the institutions, but also the knowledge of those interventions that are the most suitable and fitting in the associated case. One such example is from my placement where the revolving door approach was tackled on a patient. In such a scenario, a user usually becomes stable for a while but then goes back at the same problem in some time. Basically, the user only gains a short term steadiness and then deteriorates to the same level as the beginning. The user in this scenario needed support as well as intervention of the highest level that tested my abilities of exhibiting the appliance of processes and techniques that were related to the required therapy. I came to realize that as a practitioner, my role was to provide my patients an approach that they can embody so that they could work towards a healthy mental treatment. A practitioner must also be aware of the biological model, the claim of which is supported by James (2009) that one must be able to understand the basic structure as well as the way a human body functions because of the fact that the human body is very important for becoming a health care professional. I also realized the importance of interpersonal relationships and was amazed to see that the main culture that is needed for treatments in the mental health is being able to make connection with various events. For example, one of my patients required a joined up approach of thinking that did the same. The treatment revolved around making sure that those events of the past that are directly related to the current situation of the user are brought in focus. In this way, experiences from childhood and adolescence were brought in picture that helped the user recognize the patterns forming the behavior. The whole idea behind this strategy could only be accomplished when a practitioner like me recognized the need to turn a mere treatment into a meaningful recovery. Therefore, one of the most important lessons that I have learned through my placements is that it is not just about dealing with a treatment that is presented to you, that could range from a bracket of drug abuse, depression, to stress and depression, it is also about understanding the meaning of a holistic approach that considers each individual as a person. In this way, both the practitioner as well as the individual gains a lot and thus identifying ways to recognize each action demonstrated by the user and thereby exploring the root cause. Utilizing the psychological techniques that need to be carried out must also be one of the biggest knowledge and skill that must be used in order to meet the needs of the user. It is imperative that the professional actually listens to the user and assures them that they are being taken seriously. For example, it is being taught to us that the user must be able to recognize the presence of his or her internal world with which they would slowly learn to recognize the external world and its traditions. More specifically, they would be able to recognize that their internal world is being understood the same way as the credibility of the external world exists. One of the best approaches that I have learnt through my experiences was that nonjudgmental approach must be brought in action if the practitioner has the required skills to use it. In my case, I have learned that one must begin by understanding the behavioral patterns and the system of belief of the user that would enable the practitioner to fully engage in with the patient. More specifically, rather than simply outlining the rights and wrongs to them, it is better to fully understand the thinking ways of the patient; thus giving them the impression that the practitioner is fully involved in the process. This approach thereby outlines the best skill needed by the practitioner and that is the human approach as one individual meets and understands one another. Of course, while the need for maintaining efficient commune orally as well as in writing, conceptualizing and articulating inputs that are interdisciplinary in nature and recognizing and observing the behavior patterns and their relationships, learning to work between the prescribed boundaries and still maintaining the natural comfort is a balance that needs to be mastered. While in placement, the need to maintain clear boundaries that revolve around the revelation of one’s own personal information is very important; with that said it also becomes the responsibility of a practitioner to work together with the user as peoples. Therefore, as a practitioner admits the responsibilities of working in service training, treatment plan coordinator, administer tests and tools, they must have the ability to gain trust of the user. This is so, because if they know the art of building trust, they would be able to work at a much higher and meaningful level. The processes would therefore become much more open and the user will be able to accept the feedback that will work towards changing the behavior and patterns of the user to the intended level. Once this approach has been established, it will also support the factor of development and growth of the user, thereby providing a shift from the negative relationship that is usually between the practitioner and the user to a more positive one that moderately triggers self-actualization as well as empowerment. As Rana and Morely (2009) states that even if psychology is treated as a younger branch of science, it is necessary to understand that this branch is highly important because it forms a path for the mental health nursing practice that has been recognized for a long time. The entire patterning is a bit contained but supportive as well. However, the best approaches for which the respective skills and knowledge are needed can be understood as follows: The need to establish emotional support more than the need for medications. Understanding the feelings of the individual so that the user and the practitioner can connect in order to provide encouragement to the user. The use of the emotional as well as Intelligence quotient Handling the issues of self-ownership Being aware of the personal risks and ensuring that the accountability by the practitioner as well the management is maintained. Following a theory based approach that includes the use of individual therapy, group therapy as well as family therapy that brings in the focus of inter-family relationships. I also learned the process of art therapy as well as the importance of art. This is so, because the patients learn the ways of self-expression, which means that it replaces the self-destructive behavior by providing the user a way of expressing feelings through a creative measure. This is also a very good approach and requires the right skills and knowledge by the practitioner to be used to working towards resolving the subconscious as well as the conscious issues of the user. Such practitioners make sure that activities of this sort are also carried out at the group level to find a balance of play and therapy. Thus, the user will be able to identify his or her personal needs, demand them, identify the risks in the arena of risk management, and live a medication free time period through the practitioner’s intervention and support. With that developed, I learnt of viewing users as people who need a cure rather than someone who is ill. A practitioner therefore needs to realize the importance of empowering the user and making them aware of the fact that living life to the best of effort is not a crime. Other than that depicting the difference of view that most users have regarding the practitioners of being indifferent with a treatment that does not align the objectives of the user. A framework of capable practice can be depicted in the following diagram: Source: The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2001 Compare and contrast this with the approaches used for young and old age user group in a specific service setting Source: Department of health, 2006 Beginning with the comparison, from my placement I have been able to realize the importance of a specific strategy used while dealing with the user. The above stated strategy therefore depicts the problem solving and recovery based approach used with almost every kind of user. Relating it with literature, it has been found that this model has been acknowledged worldwide and is now encouraged to be used in many clinical placements. This model was put forward by barker (2001) and was further supported by Peplau (1998). I had a very exciting time in placement where the level of supervision gradually decreases with time and witnessed the presence of many new practices that are adopted by the hospitals. When it comes to treating either young or old I have realized that a practitioner like me always need to keep the training and practice on the same page. With time it was however felt that as the approach toward a drug free environment was being worked on, there was also a fear that the need for us practitioners would end soon. However, even with the presence of antidepressant drugs, the need for us practitioners is still there as the input required can only be attained by us. When it comes to treating an individual, it has been my observation that pills will never be effective if physical treatments along with the psychology needs are ignored. Also, for users of age, it is necessary to build trust between the user and practitioner that makes a bond aiding the user to slowly grasp the actual life back in his or her hands. This is so because where there is trust, there is hope and therefore the symptoms can be easily fought with. During my time, I have worked on various strategies that have been able to bring wellbeing as well as potential in their lives, be it young or old. Although there may be a limited amount of practitioners that can effectively work for mental as well as behavioral shifts according to the SAMHSA (2007), the basic problem solving and recovery based approach will always stay the same for both kinds of groups. Beginning from the elderly group in contrast, it has been stated that adults that are over the age of 55 are a total of 20 percent that suffer from the mental disorder disease as well as many other anxiety disorders. These could range from anxiety, panic, mood disorder as well as cognitive impairment. (AOA, 2001) Statistics from 2005 also depict a percentage of 20 adults going through a psychological disorder that did not have any good treatment available to them and were therefore deprived of such services (Bartels, 2004). Many old users are under the care due to the reason of several mental health treatments but the utilization by them had been really low because of the presence of factors such as insufficient insurance coverage, a deficiency of mental health providers that are trained, , a need for coordination between providers of primary care, mental health and aging service providers, a stigma that is around the mental health as well as its treatment, not accepting the problems they face, and having limited access to transportation (Bartels, 2004). Of course on of the basic difference I have come across during my time in placement is that young users need involvement. More specifically, they need to be involved in almost every stage in service planning as they want to state what the experience of the service as well as the treatment regimens has been all about. Working and treating young group required the use of an informal and friendly approach with whom I usually had to set up a collaborative strategy for new ideas. Of course a national strategy is in need to deal with young users but there has been less work on this aspect. Working with young users require a friendlier approach than the rest of the age groups especially the older bracket. Other strategy that has been used along with the open approach is including the consultation from the parents and family or the guardians of the young users. I have also observed that due to the presence of these kinds of strategies, the role of family and siblings incorporated into the approach can provide efficient information and work towards empowering them for good treatment. There is however need to hire more young blood in this stream in order to fully inculcate the young mind with the training and education programs. I have also witnessed a lot of tactics that tap into areas that are of wider social issues. The organizations working in this arena are also many which cater to many problems in the teens. These issues have been seen to have a lot of effect on the mental health of the young users along with disturbing their emotional and psychological wellbeing. Therefore my aim is to support such treatment strategies that directly collaborates with the experiences of the young and that works towards reducing the barriers that arise while dealing with the issues. An integrated model therefore needs to be applied here that aims to build up mechanism to deal with self-esteem and self-identity. The relevant legal frameworks that are applied here are the ones that range from the education and training, the Children Act of 1989 and Mental Health Act of 1983. Where interpersonal techniques and the psychological strategies, both work well, and are needed, with the old as well as the young users, it has been observed that target strategies must be developed for each age group as their needs and way of thinking is much different from each other. In such a medium, such mental health strategies can be developed that target the emotional wellbeing directly dealing with the factors that may prove to reduce the risk factors as well as enhance the protective factors of the strategies. Reference: Administration on Aging, Older Adults and Mental Health: Issues and Opportunities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000 Barker P, 2001. “The tidal model: developing an empowering, person-centered approach to recovery within psychiatric and mental health nursing”. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Volume 8 Number 3: 233-40 Bartels, S.J., Blow, F.C., Brockmann, L.M., & Van Citters, A.D. 2005. “Substance abuse and mental health care among older Americans: The state of the knowledge and future directions”. Rockville, MD: WESTAT Department of health, Chief Nursing Officer’s Review of Mental Health Nursing, Summary of Responses to the Consultation, 2006. James, P. 2009. “Biological model: why is biology relevant to mental health nurses?” Morley, P. & Rana. D. 2009. “Psychological models: why is psychology relevant to mental health nurses?” Peplau H. E. 1998. “Interpersonal relations in nursing.” Macmillan, London. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, An Action Plan for Behavioral Health Workforce Development, 2007. Accessed May 15th 2012, from The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, The Capable Practitioner, A framework and list of the practitioner capabilities required to implement, The National Service Framework for Mental Health, The Training & Practice Development Section of The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, April 2001 Read More