Nursing Case Study: Collaborative Mental Health Consumer Experiences

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of collaborative mental health nursing practice, emphasizing the importance of understanding healthcare consumers' experiences with mental disorders. The introduction defines key terms and outlines the assignment's purpose, setting the stage for a detailed discussion. The report explores the shift from paternalistic approaches to person-centered care, highlighting the significance of the nurse-consumer relationship in achieving therapeutic outcomes. It examines how collaborative mental healthcare influences service delivery, policy formation, and consumer participation in treatment and recovery. The author reflects on their own nursing practice, identifying areas for improvement in communication and trust-building to enhance collaborative efforts. The report emphasizes the need for nurses to develop skills in listening, establishing rapport, and addressing consumer concerns to foster effective, long-term professional relationships. The conclusion reinforces the value of understanding consumer experiences and provides insights for improving collaborative initiatives in mental healthcare, ensuring positive patient outcomes.

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Mental Health - Nursing
By (Name of Student)
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Mental Health - Nursing
Introduction
The outcome of a healthcare intervention is determined by the extent to which the
caregivers and the other stakeholders such as the consumers are able to work together to achieve
the desired goals in terms of quality (Thornicroft, Chatterji, & Evans-Lacko 2017). Collaborative
mental healthcare is a framework that seeks to improve how the needs of mental health patients
are met when healthcare providers, families, and the particular consumers work together
(Sunderji et al. 2016). Living with the effect of mental disorder implies that an individual is
experiencing the effects of the condition while under the intervention program, which include
management and coping strategies. Those who fully recover from a mental illness have learned
how to manage the symptoms and adhere to treatment plans and activities, which makes them
expert by experience. Collaborative mental health has been linked to improved patient
experience and reduced primary healthcare burdens. This paper highlights the reason why mental
health nurses should gain an understanding of health care consumer experiences of coping with
the effects of mental disorder and provides a reflection of the author’s experience.
Role of Collaborative Mental Health Nursing Practice
When the aspect of collaboration is introduced in mental healthcare, it implies a shift
from the ordinary paternalistic and authoritative approach to treatment to pave way for mutual
and person-centered care. In this case, the knowledge and experience of the practitioners and
healthcare consumers come into the picture. The relationship between the mental healthcare
consumer and the clinician has a significant influence on the therapeutic outcomes. Such a
clinical-evidence explains why there is a shift towards a collaborative approach in mental health
care across developed countries (Whitebird et al. 2014). Paternalistic and authoritative approach

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to mental healthcare limits the capacity of the nurses and other practitioners to incorporate the
therapeutic insights gained in clinician-patient collaboration to improve consumer outcomes. It is
important to recognize the position of consumer outcomes in mental healthcare efficiency.
Nurses are required to gain an understanding of the experiences of consumers of living with the
effects of a mental disorder in order to improve care delivery frameworks. A treatment centered
approach denies the patient the ability to directly participate in healthcare intervention; however,
a collaborative approach ensures that all interventions are geared towards the mental health
consumer with the objective of improving diagnosis, treatment, and recovery (Sunderji et al.
2016).
The use of collaborative mental healthcare nursing also plays a key role in influencing the
nature of services offered to consumers. Mental health consumers influence and contribute
towards the establishment of service delivery approach, planning, and policy formation
especially when there is a framework that supports data collection based on participation and
engagement (Whitebird et al. 2014). Through participation, mental healthcare consumers are able
to be included in the care delivery process. In fact, nurses are also expected have an
understanding of the experiences of consumers of living with the effects of a mental disorder for
them to be able to provide more insights regarding the efficiency, sustainability, and limitations
characterizing an intervention. Consumers of mental healthcare are primary agents when it
comes to rehabilitation and recovery frameworks (Liu, Daumit, & Dua 2017). In this case, they
are to be considered more than mere positive recipients of clinical-based mental interventions. It
is prudent for mental health nurses to incorporate healthcare consumers from the beginning of
the treatment process to rehabilitation and recovery (Sunderji et al. 2016). Such decisions ensure
that the patients are participating directly and indirectly in the decision process within the

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treatment spectrum. Improvement of service delivery as well as the enactment of policy depends
on the experience of consumers especially when they were part of the intervention decisions.
Collaborative mental healthcare nursing also ensures that during the recovery period, the
consumers are prepared and trained to undertake the assigned tasks to foster the development of
positive identities. The nurses also work with the patient during this phase to frame mental
illness while at the same time establishing valued roles in social realms. When mental healthcare
practitioners have a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of mental health
consumers, they will able to assist the patients to highlight their limitations and perfect on their
strength to achieve excellent rehabilitation outcomes (Unutzer et al. 2013). Mental healthcare
consumers sometimes are unable to determine the choices to make or set goals to attain;
however, collaborative framework offers the opportunity for nurses to professionally work with
these patients to build new dimensions in life as part of interventions beyond the clinical
confines. Mental health nurses are also bound by ethical practice and professional expertise just
like any other healthcare practitioner, which means that they are experienced in establishing
professional therapeutic relationship with patients and help them to identify the best way on how
to establish, restore, and maintain physical, social, and psychological stability beyond the
rehabilitation phase of recovery (Unutzer et al. 2013).
While collaborative care planning is associated with significant advantages, it is not
always straightforward to achieve these goals (Sebergsen, Norberg, & Talseth 2016). There are
several factors, based on clinical evidence, that impede the success of collaborative nursing care
in mental health. Nurses are required to gain an understanding of the experiences of consumers’
of living with the effects of a mental disorder to minimize instances of there is no clear
distinction about what constitutes collaborative care, which could lead to a high chance of poor

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implementation (Kelley et al. 2014). The framework and context of collaborative care a defined
in policies and guidelines are taken to imply all forms of collaborative intervention regardless of
the specific area of intervention. In this case, the risk of generalization affects how legal
frameworks interpret the perspective of collaboration amid a mandatory service requirement
(McKeown, Wright, & Mercer 2017). Such controversies have affected the manner in which
practitioners participate and foster collaboration in mental health. On the other hand, the mental
health consumers have a choice on specific areas they desire to collaborate with the nurses,
which limits the capacity of the professionals to fully assist the patient from the scope of mutual
but professional relationship. However, when both the consumer and the nurses are aware of the
concept and dimension of collaborative care in mental health, it will be possible to achieve the
desired level of quality outcomes (Kelley et al. 2014).
Personal Reflection
In my nursing experience, I have realized that I need to enhance my understanding of the
process of collaboration. Through interaction with other practitioners as well as with scholarly
literature, I have come to notice that successful collaboration stems from the extent to which a
nurse is able to understand the procedure of collaboration with mental health consumers (Baker,
Green, & Rutherford 2015). Mental health patients have diverse needs and the relationship
between the practitioner and the consumer remains central to the rehabilitation and recovery
outcomes. When there are adequate resources and a support system, a mental health nurse needs
to foster the use of two-way communication and respect for the patient to establish a long-term
professional interaction with therapeutic implication when dealing with the consumer (Visser,
Deliens, & Houttekier 2014). I believe that if I improve my skills in communication and how to
build trust with mental health customers, then I will be able to enhance my understanding of the

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collaboration process in this field. The justification for this decision emanates from the nature of
collaboration process, which is always a one-to-one interaction with the patient. Moreover, the
outcome of this interaction is beyond the clinical intervention practices, which means that they
require a social perspective and compassion to establish a platform before engaging with the
patient of critical issues.
It is a process to improve one’s ability to professionally communicate while building a
mutual relationship for collaborative practices. The first step I will undertake is to ensure that I
am keen to build an effective two-way rapport with patients as the foundational stage of the
collaboration process with mental health consumers. I have come to understand that the
consumers I have once approached when they were distracted did not end as I expected;
therefore, I will desist from approaching a consumer when they are still stressed about any other
issue different from their treatment. I will also strive to always focus on the common ground
where we have a common interest because this is a safe zone for establishing a therapeutic
relationship with mental health consumers (Bry et al. 2016). There are difficult topics to address
in mental health and often practitioners face challenges setting a platform to discuss with the
consumer. However, I will ensure that I consider the power of listening without interruption and
the use of open-ended questions to allow the patient to open up and express their perception and
experience.
It is possible for mental health consumers to feel devalued when collaborating with
nurses. Such a perception usually comes into the picture whenever the patient feels that they are
not given the opportunity to choose and negotiate (Marcum 2013). In fact, some go to the extent
of retreating and censoring themselves because they are afraid of what the nurses could think
about them. However, when the level of communication is open and the patient is given time to

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also influence the discussion; it will be possible to establish a long-term professional relationship
with therapeutic implications (Langridge, Roberts, & Pope 2016). I will always keep my patients
informed in advance about any process or activity and prepare them for any session of
interaction. Such a move will ensure that the consumer does not just agree to my suggestions but
rather be in a position to weight the available opportunities without feeling coerced. Some
mental health consumers are aware when a nurse is poor in communication and building personal
relationship and when this happens, it could impede future collaboration attempts from the same
nurse. Moreover, I will, from time to time, interact with my colleagues to learn from their
experience and share my challenges. Sharing with team members will help me understand how
to overcome any unfamiliar problem associated with collaboration in mental health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this excerpt has revealed the reasons why mental health nurses should gain
an understanding of health care consumer experiences of coping with the effects of mental
disorder. The paper has shown that when nurses understand consumers’ experiences, they will be
able to offer therapeutic help through interaction, which could positively impact rehabilitation-
based outcomes. Through effective collaboration, the practitioners could gather insights that are
essential to improving mental health intervention both in a short-term and long-term basis.
However, this discussion has revealed that there is a possibility of nurses failing to meet the
required competencies for positive collaboration in mental healthcare whenever they fail to give
ample opportunity to consumers. In this case, improving one’s communication skills as a mental
health nurse could enhance the nature of collaborative initiatives by impacting the attitudes,
perception, and experience of consumers. It is therefore important to determine skills of

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behavioral limitation and strive to improve them to ensure that practitioners are professionally in
apposition to understand, execute, and support collaborative processes effectively.

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