Mental Health Disorders: Definitions, Legislation, and Treatment

This article discusses the lack of transparency in mental health definitions, guardianship provisions, and discrimination. It also explores recovery-oriented mental healthcare, medication, and psychotherapy. Additionally, it covers the effects of mental disorders and ways to reduce stigma.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Answer 1:
1. Lack of transparency as well as clarity in different types of definitions of mental health
disorders
2. Guardianship provision exists in most of the jurisdictions that complement mental health
legislation
3. Discrimination that is based on the domain of mental health disorder which is covered by
State anti-discrimination legislation
4. Criteria for involuntary admissions as well as detention in different jurisdictions are seen
to be less rigorous than that of UN principles.
5. Limited legislative provisions are seen to be present for equity of access for providing
treatment for different mental health disorders.
6. Emphasis on the requirement of proper disclosure of information to service users along
with the necessity for obtaining properly informed consent is generally not reflected in
legislation of mental health.
7. Most jurisdictions maintain the needs that patient should be given information regarding
the rights of the patients (Walker 2015).
8. Patients identified with criminal offences do not have equal access to best available
mental healthcare practices like other psychiatric patients and that is against UN
principles number 20
9. Very few provisions that protect children and young people in territory as well as /state
legislation breaking UN principle 2
10. Several states and territories have set tribunals to listen to complains of involuntary
detentions but other states have not reached the mark.

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Answer 2:
2.1. Recovery oriented mental healthcare should be provided to patients. Uniqueness of the
individuals, supporting and empowering individuals, effective partnership and communication
with mental health patients and their families are the philosophies that nurses should maintain.
2.2. proper attitudes and rights, dignity and respect of patients, evaluation of recovery,
community based service and support actions, accountability, integrity and collaboration are
some of the values that apply to mental health
Answer 4:
 Anhedonia is the disorder where individuals fail to derive pleasure from pleasurable
activities (Scott et al. 2016).
 Avolition is the loss of motivation for initiating and thereby performing self directed as
well as purposeful activities
 Catatonia is the abnormal movement as well as behaviour resulting from disturbed mental
state
 Clang association is the use of rhyming words that are often used together making no
meaning and used by patients of bipolar disorders or psychosis
 Echolalia is the meaningless repetition of another person’s spoken words and signifies
psychiatric disorder
 Flight of ideas is rapid flow of though along with accelerated speech and abrupt change
from one topic to another
 Obsession is the state of being obsessed with someone as well as something

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
 Waxy flexibility is the decreased response to different stimuli and tendency of remaining
in immobile posture along with catatonia
 Tangentiality is the symptom of speech when person is experiencing anxiety
Answer 5:
Personality disorders Psychotherapy
Medication like antidepressant
Effective communication about
moods, feelings thoughts, group
therapy
Anxiety disorders Cognitive behavioural therapy
Relaxation techniques
9Townsend and moragn 2017)
Proper counselling with the
patient, educating the patient
about healthy lifestyle habits
In addition, reducing stress
psychosis Cognitive behavioural therapy
Anti-psychotic medication
Proper counselling with the
patient, coping strategies for
family and patient.
Organic brain/mental disorders Cognitive behavioural therapy
Interpersonal therapy
Effective coping strategies,
therapeutic communication,
empowerment
Panic disorder Antidepressant, benzodiazepines Medication compliance
Social phobia and specific
phobias
Interpersonal therapy,
psychotherapy
Effective counselling
Obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder
Exposure and Response
Prevention (ERP), medications
called serotonin reuptake
inhibitors, or SRIs (Nolen et al.
Therapeutic communication

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
2015)
Post-traumatic stress disorder Prolonged Exposure Therapy,
EMDR
Effective coping strategies,
therapeutic communication,
empowerment
depression Cognitive behavioural therapy
Relaxation techniques
Proper counselling with the
patient, educating the patient
about healthy lifestyle habits
In addition, reducing stress
Bipolar disorder selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI)
medications sertraline (Zoloft)
and paroxetine (Paxil) , Eye
movement desensitization and
reprocessing (EMDR)
Counselling and medication
Eating disorder Medical Nutrition Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT)
Proper counselling with the
patient, educating the patient
about healthy lifestyle habits
In addition, reducing stress
Borderline personality disorder Schema-focused therapy
Dialectical behaviour
therapy (DBT)
Therapeutic communication
Schizophrenia Antipsychotic medications,
psychotherapy
Effective coping strategies,
therapeutic communication,
empowerment
dementia Medication, person centred care Developing bonds with a patient,

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
assessing risk factors, modifying
environment
delirium Medication person centred care
Answer 6:
 Social factors are gender and ethnicity
 Physical factors are birth trauma and brain injury
 Cognitive factors are memory recalling and reasoning-problem solving ability
 Psychological factors like stress and rejection
Answer 7:
Five principles of recovery in mental health care is providing dignity and respect, maintaining
uniqueness of individuals, real choices, participation and communication with patients and
possessing proper rights and attitudes.
Answer 8:
 Biological effects are improper digestion as in depression and loss of appetite
 Psychological effects are loss of control on emotions and issues in problem solving skills
 Social effects are social isolation as well as stigmatisation (Townsend and Morgan 2016)

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Answer 9:
schizophrenia Hallucinations Harm to others as well as to self
Obsessive compulsive disorder obsessions Stressed, fear and anxiety on the
person
Narcissistic Personality Disorder Requires excessive admirations Highly reactive to criticisms
creating conflicts and feuds.
Bipolar disorder Suicidal tendency Self harm
Answer 10:
Stigma, negative stereotyping, culture and discrimination on mental health patients result in
development of intense fear of the patient in coming out and interacting with society. This delays
the seeking of the necessary mental health care. The patients also develop a practice of self-
stigmatisation. They internalise the negative perceptions as well as stereotypes prevalent in
society creating anxiety, sadness and depression. They can also get subjected to substance abuse
disorders and even self harm.
Answer 11:
11.1. The patient is suffering from schizophrenia.
11.2. Risperidone (Risperdal), ziprasidone (Geodon), and olanzapine (Zyprexa) are the
medications that would be provided to the patient for treating both positive and negative
symptoms. Psyco-education as well as social skill training are seen to be more productive. It

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
helps the patient in realising that the hallucinations are not real and teaches the patients and
family members to suit up themselves with the situations. Effective communication tactics can
be adopted for development of coping skills. The patient should be helped in identifying the
situation where the listening or visualising of voices are more prominent and thereby help her to
control her through in a positive away to “make the voices go away”. Activities that reduce
anxiety in the client should be encouraged.
Answer 12
12.1. Challenging behaviour can be described as the difficult behaviour, problem behaviour or
socially unacceptable behaviour that possess a challenge to the healthcare professionals as well
as others who are trying to tackle the situation. It may be self-injurious, stereotyped, aggressive
as well as non person directed
12.2. The nurse should back off immediately and do not get nervous. She should keep calm, call
for help and the person should be left so that he could calm down (Nolen et al. 2016). The
professionals should remove others for the environment and should immediately remove any
sharp objects. The professional should be aware of the body language as well as tone of voice of
the person and then try her best to make him feel better by performing the thing that the patient
wants her to do except unsafe practices.
Answer 13:
The mental health patients should be advised with proper dietary control of sugars as well as the
importance of sugar free lubrication mainly for relieving the symptoms of dry mouth. This is
essential for the reduction of the adverse oral side effects of anti-psychotic medication causing
xerostoma. Education must be provided to them for the maintenance of the periodontal health

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
and this is to be done by promotion of oral hygiene techniques and developing screening options
for them.
Answer 14:
The patients feel helpless and depressed as they feel that they are burdens on their caregivers.
The caregivers feel stressed, as they cannot lead quality lies because of mental health patients.
They are also seen to go through financial issues as most money is spent on treatment and
maintenance.

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MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
References:
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. and Rector, N.A., 2015. Abnormal psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Scott, K. M., Lim, C., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Bruffaerts, R., Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M., ...
and Kawakami, N. 2016. Association of mental disorders with subsequent chronic physical
conditions: world mental health surveys from 17 countries. JAMA psychiatry, 73(2), 150-158.
Townsend, M.C. and Morgan, K.I., 2017. Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in
evidence-based practice. FA Davis.
Walker, E.R., McGee, R.E. and Druss, B.G., 2015. Mortality in mental disorders and global
disease burden implications: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA psychiatry, 72(4),
pp.334-341.