Trauma-Informed Care and Mental Health

The essay explores three major issues affecting Mark's mental health: influenza in early childhood triggering drug intake, lack of communication and supportive relations leading to mental exhaustion, and limited awareness about mental illness contributing to cocaine use. It concludes with principles of trauma-informed care that healthcare providers can apply in collaborative care for personal recovery.

MENTAL HEALTH ESSAY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Three issues which have contributed to problematic substance use............................................3
Principles of Trauma- informed care and practice......................................................................4
Information regarding issues to nurse for managing collaboration and person recovery of
patient..........................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Mental health is a level of psychological well-being which denotes individual level of
making behaviour and emotional adjustments. It determines individual ability to make choices
and handle stress in real life situations. The essay will outline 3 issues from the case of Mark
who was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder at the age of 43 but was experiencing
symptoms since 17 (Mark, 2019). The study will identify principles of trauma informed care and
practice and issues which should be focused by mental health nurse at the time of collaborating
with patient to attain personal recovery.
MAIN BODY
Bipolar disorder is a maniac depression in which person experiences episodes of mood
swings that is depressive lows to highs. However, clinical depression is mental health disorder
characterised by depressive mood, loos of interest in activities which can lead to harmful
practices like involvement in drug abuse, suicidal tendencies, etc.
Three issues which have contributed to problematic substance use
According to Kanwal and et.al., 2018, it is articulated that mood disorder, anxiety and
depression are related with viral diseases. The study shares detailed analysis of viral health
problems which are cause due to influenza varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, etc. It is
identified that psychological stress and depression are cause due to biological effects which
impact cell mediated immunity and increase inflammatory process. Bad flu to Marks in early
age due to which he was unable to train was the triggering factor of mental health problems.
These were the days when Mark was not aware about his mental suffering which controlled his
mind and is one which that encouraged use of substance.
The things went well for years until Mark started experiencing anxiety attacks where he
used to sit in toilets before warmup and cry. In accordance with the case it is identified that
Marks used to play a game which was not only physical exhausting but also mentally exhausting
and therefor many times Mark use to cry while her Mother used to drive him to airport after a
game. In this phase he used to state that he not to stop as he can not take the pressure and the
signs were ignored which is another issue that triggered mental health problem and substance
use. According to Ancker and et.al., 2015, important factors that can helps preventing substance
use at young age comprise support of parents, open communication, supportive relationship and

positive sense of achievement. These are the factors which were lacking in case of Mark at
teenage which triggered use of substance in case of mental pressure.
Till age of 28 Mark had no understanding of mental health problems because of lack of
organisation awareness over mental health concerns is another issue which contributed to
substance use. It analysed by discipline and daily life of Mark where he used to go out on Friday
nights and consume cocaine and became habitual to substance use. According to Clifford and
Shakeshaft, 2017, the study outlined about indigenous adolescents who are at high risk of
substance use in comparison to non-indigenous individual because of lack of prevention measure
and knowledge about future risk of substance use.
Principles of Trauma- informed care and practice
Traumatic informed practice is strength-based framework which aim at developing
responsiveness ad understanding over trauma which can impact emotion, psychological and
physical safety of sufferer. 5 principles of traumatic informed care are, safety, transparency and
trustworthiness, choice, empowerment and collaboration and mutuality. According to Roberts
and et.al., 2018, it identified that Australian Mental health system has poor control and
relationship with mental and physical condition of patients and trauma. In accordance with
safety, it can be said lack of awareness of patient about mental illness since years is the major
triggering factor because effectiveness of mental health system is based on early diagnosis and
treatment. The traumatic care can be effective for managing improvement in health outcome of
patient as in this service provider is encouraged to work collaboratively with patient. When
managing care with safety principles it is impotent for the nurse to focus on psychological safety
against medical condition which can be managed by aiming at giving rest and dignity. Trauma
informed care is effective for managing communication
On the other hand, empowerment and choice principle of traumatic informed care is
beneficial for managing care against use of substance where nurse can communicate and educate
patient about harmful content of cocaine and its impact on mental health condition. With regard
tot his car workers can give patient right to make own decision which will encourage knowledge
sharing and developing confidence among people about the negative side of the activity person is
involved (Spicer and Burton, 2019). Knowledge sharing with patient is best informed care
practice which help in empowering patient against mental health concerns. Enabling recovering

choice to patient is best practice of informed care as it helps the nurse in manging care of patient
according to individual perception.
Collaboration and transparency are another principle of informed traumatic care mental
health system encourages person centred care where it is important for the nurse to communicate
with patient about the diseases and its triggering factors. According to Moss and et.al., 2019,
system aim at preventing and detecting mental illness at early age in order to minimize its
causes. Encouraging transparency with society a patient about depression, bipolar disorder aid in
boosting knowledge about psychological wellbeing which is more than the concept of sanity.
Collaboration and transparency principle of traumatic informed care by metal health system can
be supported by increasing responsiveness towards mental health care services. Further,
implementing ongoing health training by professionals and creating partnership with vulnerable
individual can support collaboration and prevention of substance use by patient suffering from
mental illness.
Information regarding issues to nurse for managing collaboration and person recovery of patient
Collaboration of hath care worker with Mark is the best mental health care practice which
can assist in managing improvement in his condition. In this nurse ill eb able to understand
situation which triggered depression and bipolar disorder. Collaboration with service user will be
supported with by traumatic informed care principles that is safety, transparency, gaining trust,
empowerment and collaboration. Nurse will imply principle of safety when educating mark
about bipolar disorder and depression because ineffective mode of conveying information can
negatively influence the patient’s health. Patients with depression and bio-polar disorder gain
improvement via treatment within which the collaboration between the nurse and patient is
created systematically. In addition to this, it also contributes in the enhancement of the self-
management skills in a patient such as Mark in this case. In collaborative care framework various
treatments can be offered to Mark which can include the following –
 Formation of a collaborative care team which will include at least three people,
psychologist, patient and the nurse, where each and every decision related to care and
treatment can be made. If Mark agrees, one of his friend or family member can also invited to
join the team (Ignatavicius and Workman, 2015). This team can help him to overcome his
mental as well as physical issues such as Lack of transparency, loneliness and depression. Mark
can share his feelings and thoughts with the team member.

 Contracting, aiming at obtaining agreement in the collaborative care team on the most
critical issues such as Biological immunity, Involvement in drugs and treatments related
to the same. A plan for treatment can be made, developed as a contract that include
treatment and goals practices will be recorded.
 Working according to the treatment plan will be based on systematic care needs analysis
using Camberwell Assessment of Need. The implementation and results of the treatment
plan will be monitored in a systematic manner and will be evaluated by the collaborative
care team.
 Mark can be provided Psychoeducation along with the caregiver in at least six sessions
for at least 2 hours per session (Ancker and et.al., 2015).
 Problem solving treatment will be also provide to Mark, this is a brief therapy, on the
basis of the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy. It will be applied with respect to a
strict protocol that aims at improving practical skills for solving everyday issues or
problems. By enhancing the problem-solving skills, Marks understanding of the
relationship between personal issues, daily problems and mood swings. It may result in
the experience of regaining control over his life and achieve personal growth or
improvement.
 The collaborative care by nurse can also use mood charting technique via prospective
Life chart method. It can assist the nurse to examine changes in Mark's mood such as
feeling depressed or lonely which forced him towards drugs.
 Recognising early warning signs of relapse, along with pre-defined intervention as
mentioned in the relapse prevention plan.
 For managing person recovery focus of nurse will be on communication with Mark about
life and his reaction to certain situation. This will help nurse in determining his ability to
react to certain scenario. Interaction in care plan is essential measure which aim deriving
individual ability to understand and react in different real-life situation. In accordance
with personal recovery nurse will incorporate use of cognitive behavioural therapy which
is talk therapy which helps in identifying wide range of issue regarding mental health of
patient (Cognitive behavioural therapy, 2019). It is beneficial for managing symptoms of
mental illness and ways of prevent relapse which is necessary to be focused in case of
Mark because relapse can lead to substance misuse.

In accordance with scenario and medical condition of Mark which got worsened due to lack of
supportive relationship and knowledge over symptoms it can be said that when managing
collaborative care Nurse will imply principle of safety when educating mark about bipolar
disorder and depression because ineffective mode of conveying information can impact
psychological wellbeing of person. Supportive relationship with patient is the bests measure to
boost collaborative care for patient suffering from mental illness because with the help of this
nurse will be able to understand condition and triggering factor of patient which leads to in
involvement in harmful practices like drug abuse or negligence of disorder. Collaborative care is
a supportive practice because as it aims at making people understand need of psychological
wellbeing. Psychologists is another member of mental health multidisciplinary team which can
helps nurse in collaborative care planning for Mark. In this nurse can communicate with patient
about the factors and condition due to which the person experiences extreme mood swings and
the situation which drag him to substance use. The nurse patient relationship can help
psychologist in deriving appropriate care plan for Mark. The motive behind choosing
Psychologists is allied team care is to enhance quality of services and practice which will be
incorporating in informed care. Setiyawati and et.al., 2014, outlined integration of phycologist in
mental health care plan which helps in closing treatment gap by considering all the condition and
vulnerabilities of patient condition. The study articulated about evidence-based treatment by
nurse like Cognitive behavioural therapy can be supported with help of psychologist. Further, it
stated that involvement Psychologists can assist nurse in continuous monitoring and supervision
over patient health outcome and reaction to care plan and therapies. However, Rickwood and
et.al., 2015, outlined about cycle of planning which allow a shift from psychiatric hospitals to
community services, from reliance on psychiatric hospitals as pivotal to psychiatric care system.
Medicare access to psychotherapy by psychologists for common mental disorders in primary
care which should be considered by nurse when managing collaborative care for patient.
CONCLUSION
The essay summarized over 3 issues after understand medical condition of Mark who have
been suffering from depression and Bipolar disorder. The major causes of increasing depression
were influenza in early childhood which was triggering factor to drug intake. Further, lack of
communication and supportive relation led to mental exhaustion which was another reason
which triggered substance use. Lastly lack of awareness over mental illness was critical issue

which contributed to use of cocaine. The study concluded with Principles of Trauma- informed
care and practice which can be implied by health care provider when managing collaborative
care of Mark of managing personal recovery.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ancker, J.S. and et.al., 2015. The invisible work of personal health information management
among people with multiple chronic conditions: qualitative interview study among
patients and providers. Journal of medical Internet research. 17(6). p.e137.
Clifford, A. and Shakeshaft, A., 2017. A bibliometric review of drug and alcohol research
focused on Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United
States. Drug and alcohol review. 36(4). pp.509-522.
Ignatavicius, D.D. and Workman, M.L., 2015. Medical-Surgical Nursing-E-Book: Patient-
Centered Collaborative Care, Single Volume. Elsevier health sciences.
Kanwal, F. and et.al., 2018. A Randomized Trial of Off‐Site Collaborative Care for Depression
in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus. Health services research. 53(4). pp.2547-2566.
Moss, K.M. and et.al., 2019. Trauma-informed care in practice: Observed use of psychosocial
care practices with children and families in a large pediatric hospital. Psychological
services. 16(1). p.16.
Rickwood, D.J. and et.al., 2015. Changes in psychological distress and psychosocial functioning
in young people visiting headspace centres for mental health problems. Medical journal
of Australia. 202(10). pp.537-542.
Roberts, R. and et.al., 2018. Improving the physical health of people living with mental illness in
Australia and New Zealand. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 26(5). pp.354-362.
Setiyawati, D. and et.al., 2014. Australian experts' perspectives on a curriculum for psychologists
working in primary health care: implication for Indonesia. Health Psychology and
Behavioral Medicine: An Open Access Journal. 2(1). pp.970-982.
Spicer, M. and Burton, V., 2019. 25 Setting up a “whole of culture” trauma-informed care model
in Australia. Humanising Mental Health Care in Australia: A Guide to Trauma-informed
Approaches.
Online

Cognitive behavioural therapy. 2019. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/about/pac-
20384610 >.
Mark. 2019. [Online]. Available through: < https://www.sane.org/information-stories/people-
like-us/mark>.