Deakin Uni HNN222: Mental Health & Mood Stabilizers Presentation

This presentation addresses the concerns of a Nurse Unit Manager regarding high readmission rates due to non-adherence to mood stabilizers by clients. The assignment involves developing an educational video aimed at clients in an acute inpatient unit to enhance their understanding of mood stabilizers. The presentation covers the impact of mental illness on patients and their families, emphasizing the need for proper medication and relapse prevention strategies. It discusses the role of mood stabilizers like sodium valproate and lithium in treating mental illnesses such as bipolar disorders, and the importance of patient-based recovery focused care. The recovery model for mental illness is also explained, with the goal of helping patients set new goals and build meaningful relationships. The presentation is supported by references to relevant research, highlighting the significance of pharmacology knowledge and effective communication of health information to clients and their families. The assignment aims to fulfill the unit learning outcomes of identifying the impact of mental illness and demonstrating knowledge of psychopharmacology, relapse prevention and patient/family education.

Mental Health and Illness
Assessment
Presented by:

Introduction
 The mental or behavioural pattern which causes
distress in an individual can be termed as mental
illness
 Many mental disorders after conducting research
is seen to be caused by varied genetic factors as
well (Smoller et al., 2019)

Introduction
 There are some mental disorders which require the
administration of proper medication for the optimum
treatment of the illness
 Medications help in relieving the brain of the individual off
stress and restore the chemical balance for the brain to
function properly (Lacasse & Leo, 2015)

Impact of Mental Illness on others
 People who have a mentally ill patient in their household often
have paranoia regarding the patient’s health
 There is a growing irritability and frustration between the patient
and the family because of the mental illness (Morgan et al., 2017)
 It is possible for the family members to attain social exclusion in
order to safeguard the patient (Brophy et al., 2016)
 This will have negative impact on the on the patient suffering
from mental illness as well as the family
 The patient suffering from mental disorders is treated differently
by the society and may be excluded from a lot of activities.

Relapse Prevention
 Careful assessment of the medications should be
carried out strictly by a full-time nurse
 Careful administration of drugs for the full
course must be given
 Identification of early signs resulting in a relapse
should be given special attention
 The family of the patient should receive proper
education to understand the relapse symptoms
(Fisher et al., 2018)

Mood Stabilizers
 The class of drugs which help in treating various mental
illnesses like bipolar disorders is called mood stabilizers
 Administration of mood stabilizers are prescribed to
control the erratic behaviour of the patient (Holmes,
2016)
 Sodium valproate and lithium are the most used
stabilizers in the market with substantial evidence of
their effect
 When a drug containing lithium is ingested, it is
distributed evenly in the Central Nervous System (CNS)
(Spohr et al., 2019)

Patient-based strategy for recovery
focused care
 Provide detailed information for the best
healthcare decisions to be taken.
 Helps in building a strong work relationship
between the doctor and the relatives of the
patient
 Build up of trust and confidence in the relatives
towards the healthcare community

Recovery Model for Mental Illness
 It aims to help people with mental illnesses to
look beyond just existence.
 The recovery model helps people in setting up
new goals
 Its objective is to help people build meaningful
relationships with people that provide meaning
to their life.

References
Best, D., Beckwith, M., Haslam, C., Alexander Haslam, S., Jetten, J., Mawson, E., & Lubman,
D. I. (2016). Overcoming alcohol and other drug addiction as a process of social identity transition:
The social identity model of recovery (SIMOR). Addiction Research & Theory, 24(2), 111-123
Brophy, L. M., Roper, C. E., Hamilton, B. E., Tellez, J. J., & McSherry, B. M. (2016).
Consumers and their supporters’ perspectives on poor practice and the use of seclusion and
restraint in mental health settings: results from Australian focus groups. International journal of
mental health systems, 10(1), 6
Dray, J., Bowman, J., Freund, M., Campbell, E., Hodder, R. K., Lecathelinais, C., & Wiggers, J.
(2016). Mental health problems in a regional population of Australian adolescents: association
with socio-demographic characteristics. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 10(1),
32
Fisher, A., Sharpe, L., Anderson, J., Manicavasagar, V., & Juraskova, I. (2018). Development and
pilot of a decision-aid for patients with bipolar II disorder and their families making decisions
about treatment options to prevent relapse. PloS one, 13(7), e0200490
Holmes, K. (2016). Talking about mental illness: Life histories and mental health in modern
Australia. Australian Historical Studies, 47(1), 25-40
Lacasse, J. R., & Leo, J. (2015). Antidepressants and the chemical imbalance theory of
depression. The Behavior Therapist, 38(7)

References
Malhi, G. S., Bassett, D., Boyce, P., Bryant, R., Fitzgerald, P. B., Fritz, K., ... & Porter, R.
(2015). Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for
mood disorders. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(12), 1087-1206
Morgan, A. J., Reavley, N. J., Jorm, A. F., & Beatson, R. (2017). Discrimination and support from
friends and family members experienced by people with mental health problems: findings from
an Australian national survey. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 52(11), 1395-
1403
Segan, C. J., Baker, A. L., Turner, A., & Williams, J. M. (2017). Nicotine withdrawal,
relapse of mental illness, or medication side-effect? Implementing a monitoring tool for people
with mental illness into quitline counseling. Journal of dual diagnosis, 13(1), 60-66
Smoller, J. W., Andreassen, O. A., Edenberg, H. J., Faraone, S. V., Glatt, S. J., & Kendler, K. S.
(2019). Psychiatric genetics and the structure of psychopathology. Molecular
psychiatry, 24(3), 409
Spohr, L., Soares, M. S. P., Oliveira, P. S., de Mattos, B. D. S., Bona, N. P., Pedra, N. S., ... &
Lisboa, M. T. (2019). Combined actions of blueberry extract and lithium on neurochemical
changes observed in an experimental model of mania: exploiting possible synergistic
effects. Metabolic brain disease, 34(2), 605-619
Uher, R., & Zwicker, A. (2017). Etiology in psychiatry: embracing the reality of poly‐gene‐
environmental causation of mental illness. World Psychiatry, 16(2), 121-129