Mental Health Nursing: Case Study, Diagnosis, and Treatment

This paper discusses a case study of a client with unusual behavioral patterns and critically analyzes the medical history, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for promoting recovery. The paper focuses on depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders. The treatment approach involves a family-centered care approach, hobby therapy, and narrative therapy.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Introduction:
According to Lawrence et al. (2015), mental health covers the emotional, psychological,
emotional as well as social wellbeing of an individual. The characteristics of mental health
typically determine the manner in which an individual would supposedly respond to a particular
situation or a life event (Tiller, 2013). As stated by Rickwood et al. (2015) the diagnosis of
mental health is extremely complicated on account of the absence of external symptoms which is
common for any physical illness. Statistical figures reveal that 1 in 7 Australians suffer from a
mental health condition (Abs.gov.au, 2019). Also, deaths due to suicide is the highest in
Australia. This paper deals with the case study of a client who was presented to the inpatient
facility by a family member for an unusual behavioral pattern. The paper would critically discuss
the medical history of the patient and access the problems experienced by the patient. In addition
to this, the diagnosis and the treatment strategies along with supporting rationale would be
mentioned in order to promote recovery of the client.
Discussion:
Victor, male, aged 18 years old, was presented to the acute inpatient facility by his
mother Carla. On presentment, Carla mentioned that Victor has been behaving ‘absolutely
strange’ for over a month. She mentioned that he would be out saying he has extra classes for
long hours and would come back home late at night and had a typical redness in his eyes. Carla
further informs that he would refuse to take any meals and would sleep for long hours. He did
not interact with his family members like he did before and would stay aloof locked in his room.
She is extremely worried about her son and informs that she had a hard time convincing him to
come to the hospital.

2MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Victor looks extremely pale and thin. He seems to be underweight compared to his age.
His mother stated that he has a history of asthma. His reports reveal nil allergies. Victor had been
taken to the counselor who had performed a mental state evaluation assessment to analyze the
status of his mental health. The mental state assessment yielded the following insight:
Appearance:
 The client appeared disheveled with untidy hair and shabby clothes
 The client appeared alert and oriented to the surrounding
 The client was uncooperative with the counselor
Behavior:
 The client avoided direct eye-contact
 The client seemed agitated and was seen to fidget during the interview
Speech:
 The speech was reported to be monosyllabic
 The rhythm was reported to be monotonous
 The volume was reported to be soft
 The content was reported to be fluent
Mood:
 The client reported to feel ‘sad’ all the time but once he could use his ‘soul food’ he
reported to feel ‘on top of the world’
Affect:

3MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
 The affect was observed to be dysphoric with a labile range
 The affect was compatible with the mood
Thought Process:
 The thought process was reported to be loose
 The thought process was also reported to be repetitive
Thought Content:
 The thought content was reported to be delusional and unrealistic
Cognition:
 The level of consciousness was reported to be normal
 Attention and concentration as well as memory were also reported to be within the
normal range
 Insight/Judgement:
 The insight or judgment ability was reported to be poor.
Elaborate assessment of the patient:
Psychosocial health:
Emotional Health:
On probing the client with questions during the MSE, the client states to feel ‘sad’ and
‘low’ all the time. He states that he feels like a failure and is unworthy of anybody’s care or
attention. The only time he felt appreciated and loved was when he was with his ex-girlfriend

4MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Becky, who dumped him because she did not approve of his ‘soul-food’. At present, the client
finds his happiness in his ‘soul-food’ (chemical) with which he intoxicates himself.
Social Health:
The client mentions to feel claustrophobic around people and states that he hates social
gatherings.
Spiritual Health:
The client states that he does not believe in God anymore because God took away Becky
from him and so he has decided to become his own master.
Vulnerabilities:
The client is a Chinese immigrant and had been bullied in school. The client has suffered
multiple incidences of racial discrimination back at junior school which had made him drop a
year.
Strength:
The identified patient strengths include the following:
 The client possesses is an excellent guitarist and had been the lead guitarist of the school
band
 The client is aware about the problems that could arise from substance abuse
 The client has a financially stable family settled in Australia
Diagnosis:

5MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Therefore, based on the medical history and the MSE report, it can be said that the client
is suffering from depression. Also, the reports suggest that the client is heavily inclined towards
substance-abuse. However, it is important to note here that the problems of substance-abuse and
depression are acting as overlapping factors in case of the client. The major life event that
triggered trauma was his breakup and it was only after the breakup that he started depending on
substance-abuse heavily. Also, on account of pertinent refusal of meals, the client is also
susceptible to suffer from eating disorders.
Treatment Intervention and Rationale:
A strength-based treatment approach would be taken for the recovery planning of the
patient. As mentioned by Lindstrom et al. (2016), a strength based treatment approach primarily
involves identifying the strengths of the patient and working on the same to promote recovery.
The administration of hobby therapy could help in the process of recovery. The rationale for the
same would involve instilling an optimistic belief in the patient about his positive skills that are
worth appreciation (MacDonald et al., 2013). In addition to this, the administration of narrative
therapy would also help in the process of recovery. The rationale for the same could be
mentioned as the effectiveness of the therapy in making patients come to terms with their
traumatic event (Pia, 2013; Denborough, 2014). In addition to this, the patient would be
administered counseling for the problem of substance-abuse and a family centred approach
would be adapted for the recovery process. The rationale for the same includes research backed
evidence of accelerated recovery on involving family members (Doolen, 2014).
Conclusion:

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Therefore, to conclude, it can be said that the central focus of the treatment regimen
would include instilling the belief in Victor that his mental health condition is reversible. In
addition to this, administration of appropriate intervention strategies in combination with the use
of a family-centred care approach can help in promoting a positive recovery.

7MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
References:
Abs.gov.au (2019). [online] Abs.gov.au. Available at:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/ViewContent?
readform&view=productsbytopic&Action=Expand&Num=5.7.12 [Accessed 13 Mar.
2019].
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inspiration and transform experience. WW Norton & Company.
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Lawrence, D., Johnson, S., Hafekost, J., Boterhoven de Haan, K., Sawyer, M., Ainley, J., &
Zubrick, S. R. (2015). The mental health of children and adolescents: report on the
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theoretical perspectives. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
MacDonald, R., Kreutz, G., & Mitchell, L. (Eds.). (2013). Music, health, and wellbeing. Oxford
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Pia, E. (2013). Narrative therapy and peacebuilding. Journal of Intervention and
Statebuilding, 7(4), 476-491.

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Rickwood, D., Van Dyke, N., & Telford, N. (2015). Innovation in youth mental health services
in A ustralia: common characteristics across the first headspace centres. Early
intervention in psychiatry, 9(1), 29-37.
Tiller, J. W. (2013). Depression and anxiety. The Medical Journal of Australia, 199(6), 28-31.