Mental Health and Wellness

This article discusses the urgent critical area of addressing suicidal thoughts, appropriate nursing interventions for anxiety, and ethical issues to consider when dealing with clients with anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH 1
Mental Health and Wellness
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
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MENTAL HEALTH 2
Question one
a) The most urgent critical area that the nurse needs to identify is the issue of committing
suicide. According to the case study, Chung has been thinking of committing suicide for the
previous one week. He has been experiencing navies of suicidal thoughts due to health issues of
his family which is not the way he preferred and the workplace pressure. It is essential for the
nurse to consider addressing Chung's suicidal thought because he needs to take care of his wife
who has complications due to the cesarean operation and his child the Charlottes. Thoughts to
commit suicide are very risky especially when an individual is in a life situation that is hard. The
nurse needs to carry out the necessary intervention and advice the patient accordingly (Volker,
Zijlstra-Vlasveld, Brouwers & van der Feltz-Cornelis, 2017).
b) The most appropriate intervention for the nurse to undertake is the use of interpersonal
therapy to assist the patient with suicidal thought. In this intervention, the nurse needs to focus
on how events of life affect the emotions of the client and work to resolve these issues. The
interpersonal therapy is appropriate, especially where the patient is unable to regulate his
emotions. The nurse should provide interpersonal treatment to help Chung change the pattern of
harmful and negative thinking to positive thinking about his situation (Clarke, Kuosmanen &
Barry, 2015.
Question two
a) The mental problem that can be linked to the situation that Chung is in is anxiety. For the
last two months, Chung has been experiencing a feeling of anxiety. This may be as a result of the
health status of his wife, the situation of his baby and long working hours. Experience of
sleeplessness, poor concentration, low and flat moods, shortness of breath and slowed speech are

MENTAL HEALTH 3
clear indicators of anxiety. In most cases, men experience anxiety disorder because they are self-
dependent, robust and tends to hide their emotions. This makes men express little or no concern
at all to the situation they are in (Sin, Spain, Furuta, Murrells & Norman, 2017).
b) The most appropriate nursing intervention to use to reduce the anxiety Chung is
experiencing is establishing a close relationship with him. The nurse needs to give Chung an
opportunity to express his pressing issues openly. The nurse needs to show empathy and
willingness to listen to the concerns raised by Chung keenly. According to nursing and
midwifery board, it is necessary to record patient's details as one interacts with them. The nurse
has to provide the essential guidance and counseling to Chung on how he can react to the
pressure he is experiencing to reduce anxiety (Bolster, Holliday, Oneal & Shaw2015).
Question three
When dealing with a client with anxiety and suicidal thoughts like Chung one needs to
consider the independence of the patient which is a legal issue. According to NMBA, the nurse
needs to recognize the independence of the patient and give them the freedom to make final
decisions concerning their assessment and treatment. Recognizing the independence of the
patient assists the healthcare providers to establish an integrated care plan that is crucial
especially when providing health care and treatment to Chung who is feeling that his conditions
cannot be changed by use of medications (Doherty & Purtilo, 2015).
The second ethical issue that the nurse needs to consider is the confidentiality and privacy of
information given by the patient. The professional code of conduct requires the nurse to maintain
the confidentiality of client information without disclosing it to third parties unless authorized to

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do so. Confidentiality is crucial when assessing the health status of Chung (Grace & DRN,
2017).
References
Bolster, C., Holliday, C., Oneal, G., & Shaw, M. (2015). Suicide assessment and nurses: what
does the evidence show. Online journal of issues in nursing, 20(2).
Clarke, A. M., Kuosmanen, T., & Barry, M. M. (2015). A systematic review of online youth
mental health promotion and prevention interventions. Journal of youth and adolescence,
44(1), 90-113.
Doherty, R. F., & Purtilo, R. B. (2015). Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions-E-Book.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Grace, P. J., & DRN, P. (Eds.). (2017). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in
advanced practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Sin, J., Spain, D., Furuta, M., Murrells, T., & Norman, I. (2017). Psychological interventions for
post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people with severe mental illness. The Cochrane
Library.
Volker, D., Zijlstra-Vlasveld, M. C., Brouwers, E. P. M., & van der Feltz-Cornelis, C. M. (2017).
Process evaluation of a blended web-based intervention on return to work for sick-listed
employees with common mental health problems in the occupational health setting.
Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 27(2), 186-194.