MHR3001 Case Study: Mental Health and Interventions

This case study focuses on a 19-year-old university student, Joseph, exhibiting symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia, including auditory and visual hallucinations and delusional thoughts. The assignment analyzes Joseph's condition, exploring diagnostic criteria, and potential causes, including genetic factors and substance use. It emphasizes the importance of early intervention, including medication (antipsychotics), various therapies (family, counseling, cognitive-behavioral), and music therapy. The study also addresses the impact of stigma, the need for a collaborative approach involving healthcare professionals, family, and friends, and the importance of evidence-based treatment plans. The case study highlights the multifaceted nature of acute mental illness and the significance of comprehensive care for effective recovery.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT
MENTAL HEALTH CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Name:

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Acute mental illness is predominantly characterised by disturbing and distressing
signs that require immediate care. According to Mötteli et al. (2018), the diversity of mental
illness has made it challenging to identify the situation; thus, delaying the treatment quickly.
As per the given case study, Joseph is 19 years old first-year Geography student at the
university. He had exhibited severe symptoms of acute mental health conditions that involve
having bizarre and unusual experiences that include hearing of strange and unknown voices
for the past few weeks. From the signs and symptoms, it can be stated that Joseph is suffering
from Psychosis, a mental condition that leads to disconnection from reality and
schizophrenia, where feeling and hearing of things occur that do not exist in reality. The
diagnosis of the case includes DSM that involves criteria such as the persistence of symptoms
for more than two to three weeks and acute onset of the signs that include delusional feelings,
disorganisation in speech and hallucinations. The core diagnostic criteria for psychotic
disorder is the persistence of symptoms for more than two to three weeks and acute onset of
the signs that include delusional feelings, disorganisation in speech and hallucinations. From
the case study of Joseph, the symptoms of delusion are deepening that require prompt
treatment.
It can be seen that Joseph’s symptom aligned with the diagnostic criteria as the signs
were at an elevated rate and persist for more than two to three days that had to worsen the
scenario. Moreover, initially, he heard voices; however, after some time, he can see people
that demonstrate a higher level of delusional effect and hallucinations. He was isolating him
in either the library or his room in fear of being misjudged; however, this was limiting his
chance of recognition of his condition. The two most prevalent symptoms of acute mental
illness are delusion and hallucination, which are thought to be similar; however, does the
patient who has psychosis exhibits distinctive symptoms. As opined by Li et al. (2019),
delusion is a false impression or belief that is firmly ascertain held even though it is

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contradictory to reality. There are different types of delusions such as delusions of paranoia,
somatic delusions and grandiose delusions that affect due to different kinds of reasons and,
thus, have different impacts on the brain functioning. The individual having delusion of
paranoia may think that someone follows them regularly, or secret messages are sent to them.
In the case of grandiose delusion, there is an exaggerated sense of importance, whereas a
person thinks that he or she might have a terminal disease in case of somatic delusion. On the
other hand, Laloyaux et al. (2019) stated that the hallucination is stated to be a sensory
perception that occurs in the absence of any kind of stimulus such as hearing, seeing, feeling,
or other sensory insights. The possible diagnosis of the condition, psychosis can be done
through a psychiatric evaluation where the doctor observes the behaviour of the patient and
interrogates about the situation, feelings and experiences (Stocks et al. 2017). In addition to
this, medical tests and X-rays can be conducted that would help in determining the presence
of any underlying illness that can be responsible for causing the symptoms. Therefore, the
assessment tool that can be used for diagnosing mental illness in consultation with a
psychiatrist who is responsible for eliciting and recognising the early clinical manifestation of
the disorder, thus, deciding upon the need for referral to specialist service or clinicians. The
severity of the illness can be determined using scales. As per the opinion of Ly and DeLisi
(2017), each case of psychosis is different in nature and thus, the exact cause of the issue is
not clear. Certain diseases may be responsible for causing psychosis such as triggers like the
use of the drug, lack of adequate amount of sleep and environmental factors. In addition to
these, other situations can lead to types of psychosis that include illnesses such as brain
diseases like Huntington’s disease, Parkinson's disease, brain tumour, or chromosomal
disorders. Therefore, it can be stated that in the current context, there is no precise way that
can be used for the identification of the likely cause of the development of psychosis. White
et al. (2019) opined that in recent studies, it was shown that genetics play a vital role in the

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development of acute mental illness. It is a common fact that a person is likely to develop
psychotic disorder in case a close family has a psychotic illness. Children who are born with
a genetic mutation that is called 22q11.2 deletion syndrome are found to be at a high risk of
developing a psychotic disease, particularly schizophrenia (Zinkstok et al. 2019).
Joseph was found to be concerned about his condition, he was unable to share his
apprehension in fear of being judged and he was worried about his examination and the
voices that he was hearing. It was reported that he felt the presence of people who were trying
to attack him as a result of which he did not felt safe to visit outside his own room. One of the
most detrimental aspects in his case was that he had thoughts of committing suicide in the
past that indicated that he had such a tendency even though those were not demonstrated at
present times. According to Shapiro et al. (2019), schizophrenia and psychotic disorder are
severe concerns and can be fatal in nature that emerges in the sensitive stage of development,
especially in adolescence and affects the entire life. According to Hamilton (2017), the early
intervention includes three stages, ultra-high risk, first episode and critical period. The stages
are divided based on the severity of symptoms, risk factors and chronicity based on which the
duration and timing of the antipsychotic medication and strategies can be administered and is
variable in different stages. The negative impact of neglect, pessimism and stigma have
limited the efforts of the medical sector to identify the conditions and, thus, offering
inconstant care to such patients. According to the International Early Psychosis Association,
the need for early interventional strategies in treating the disorder is stated to be one of the
useful services (Ballard et al. 2017). The international organisation have been developed in
order to enhance the knowledge base, clinical services and care reforms for psychosis and
highlighted the importance of an integrated and comprehensive group of healthcare
practitioners (Iepa.org.au, 2020). As stated by Shan et al. (2017), one of the most detrimental
symptoms that require early intervention is preventive thinking. It can be stated that the acute

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mental illness had affected from all perspectives, his studies, his family life, social life, and
career. One of the most dominating aspects in the case of acute mental illness is stigma.
According to Frias et al. (2019), stigma is found when a person observed someone else in a
negative manner because of a particular attribute or characteristics such as mental illness; it is
known as discrimination. It occurs when a person defines another person due to illness, which
leads to being labelled as ‘psychotic’ or ‘mad.’ The aspects of social stigma and
discrimination that is experienced by people who have mental illness make the scenario
worse and, thus, make it difficult to recover (Kosyluk et al. 2016). As observed in the case
study, in the initial phase of Joseph's condition, he was afraid to share his condition with his
friend for being judged; thus, he was spending time on his own. Therefore, it is crucial to
address the situation with immediate attention and a collaborative approach need to be taken
that include all the aspect of the patient, Joseph, instead of his mental illness. This is because
mental illness is a result of several underlying factors and variables that are not always
feasible of detecting; thus, it is recommended that an approach incorporating a wide-range of
factors need to take.
The interventional strategies that can be applied in this case are medications such as
antipsychotic drugs that will specifically target the brain functioning. As per the opinion of
Oliver et al. (2018), antipsychotic medications are useful in either reducing or relieving
symptoms of psychosis that include delusion and hallucination, which was found in Joseph’s
case. The mechanism of such medicines involves help to calm by having an impact on the
nervous system and, thus, apparent confusion. It also helps in controlling the symptoms;
however, it does not address the underlying condition. Therefore, it can be stated that the
usage of more extended terms of these drugs will help in preventing future events of
psychosis. However, there are side effects when used for a prolonged period of time.
Therefore, it is recommended that a combination of medication with other kinds of therapy

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and support can be more beneficial for the management of symptoms as well as enhance the
quality of life. Some of the useful therapy include family therapy, counselling, peer support
and the use of cognitive-behavioural therapy in case of severe hallucination episodes. The use
of music therapy is found to be useful in relieving the stress level in such cases ( Csillag et al.
2018). In Joseph’s case, it was found that he loved music as he played the guitar as a
professional and has the talent of composing songs. In the first phase of the disease, he used
to listen to music on his iPod; however, later on, he stopped it and did not want to be
connected through music. According to evidence, music therapy is a useful therapeutic
approach for those who have been linked to it and enjoyed it. It uses musical interaction as a
mode of communication and expression that helps in improving the relational and emotional
competencies in addressing the concerned issue. According to many studies, it was found that
this therapy was useful in treating many patients who have an acute mental illness. According
to Pavlov et al. (2017), music has the ability to motivate people and allow for calming down.
In the case, it was found that he was addicted to smoking cannabis, which required Drugs and
Alcohol referral that will specifically address the issue of drugs that has a detrimental impact
on the intervention if not taken into consideration. A collaborative effort on behalf of the
healthcare professional, family and friends needs to be offered in case of Joseph in order to
treat him. Spain et al. (2017) opined that a systematic approach of treatment needs to be
adopted that will include a more proactive way of managing mental distress. Communication
is one of the aspects that help in venting to one’s feelings and emotions, thus, relieving from
stress and anxiety. Therefore, family and friends need to be engaged, who will support him to
go through the awkward phase of his life and morally support him in all possible aspects
(Pilgrim 2019). This process of care needs to be evidence-based that will monitor his
condition from time-to-time and report any changes found in his state. According to this, the

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action plan for his recovery should be based that will address primarily on the episodes of
hallucination and delusional effects.
From the essay, it can be stated that acute mental health conditions exhibits
predominated and distressing symptoms related to mental illness and, thus, require immediate
remedial treatment. The onset of the symptoms occurs suddenly and rapidly and therefore,
different people respond differently to the treatment. From the observation and investigation
of the case of Joseph, it can be stated that he had psychosis and schizophrenia, an acute
mental disorder that affects the brain functions of the individual. There are episodes of
hearing voices and felt the presence of someone; thus, he was traumatised and spent most of
the time alone. This may have an impact on his social, family and educational aspects and
therefore, the psychiatrist was consulted to treat him. The possible diagnosis is a vivid
consultation or psychiatric evaluation that assesses the patient’s mental status to identify the
issue. Since mental illness is caused due to a number of underlying factors, thus, medical tests
are conducted to evaluate. The possible cause of the acute mental illness of Joseph needs to
be assessed by understanding his experience, medical history and his present mental state.
Based on it, a collaborative intervention approach was formulated that included medication,
music therapy, anti-addiction therapy and involvement of family, friend and healthcare
professionals to care and support him.

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