Explain the specific information a social worker needs to gather during this assessment

Respond to at least two different colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

Expand on your colleague’s post by explaining any research that supports mental health status assessment by medical social workers.

Review a colleague’s post. Suggest additional information that needs to be gathered during assessment. Provide rationale.

Provide a constructive critique of the targeted interventions your colleague posted by suggesting one alternative intervention that might be more effective.

Offer additional strategies to improve both mental health and physical illness simultaneously.

DB 1

Hamelmal—

An explanation of the importance of mental health status assessment in the presence of physical illness

Mental and physical health affects each other. It is essential to diagnose related health issues. The importance of carrying out this diagnosis is to differentiate between physical illness and mental health issues. Clinicians are interested in their patients’ physical health and mental health to avoid risk factors caused by a mental disorder, such as causes lower quality of life and increased risk of early death due to poor health behaviors. One way in which the many different aspects of a person’s being can be incorporated into an assessment is by health professionals taking a biopsychosocial approach. The biopsychosocial approach considers the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of a person’s experience. The use of this term provides a shorthand means of encapsulating the many different aspects of personhood (PDF) Assessment of physical illness by mental health clinicians during intake visits,” 2010).

Explain the specific information a social worker needs to gather during this assessment

The specific information that a social worker needs to have is getting an accurate picture of the person. Physical and mental health factors are accountable for contributing to the development of diseases. Mental status exam or MSE is useful in examinations of mental state and behavior. The social work psychosocial assessment’s primary goal includes identifying potential risk factors that may negatively affect a client. A social worker is required to understand the family history and the person in his environment, history of mental or physical problems, occupational level, work-environment, and so forth (Greene, 2013, p. xx).

Describe any follow-up steps a social worker might take when a patient presents with a significant mental health issue

Many interventions can be used for patients with mental and physical health problems, such as stress management skills training, lifestyle medicine, preventive consultation, and positive psychotherapy. For instance, stress management skills training is effective in treating mental health and physical health issues. Stress occurs through interaction between the brain, mind, and body. The cognitive-behavioral approach focuses on irrational thoughts to change or modify the dysfunctional behavior by replacing them with rational thoughts. This approach is practical for anger management, coping skill training, identifying irrational automatic thoughts, and physiological responses. Meditation approaches like mindfulness are effective in treating mental and physical illnesses in a non-clinical setting. These strategies are accountable for addressing and treating both kinds of illnesses simultaneously.

Describe one targeted intervention that you might use in a patient with both mental and physical illness.

According to the American Diabetes Associations’ study (2010), targeted to identify psychosocial interventions that improved both physical and mental health in patients with diabetes. This could arise through the effective integration of physical and mental health interventions into a single package or positive interaction.

Finally, explain one strategy that might improve a patient’s mental illness and physical illness simultaneously.

Many interventions can be used for patients with mental and physical health problems, such as stress management skills training, lifestyle medicine, preventive consultation, and positive psychotherapy. For instance, stress management skills training is effective in treating mental health and physical health issues. Stress occurs through interaction between the brain, mind, and body. The cognitive-behavioral approach focuses on irrational thoughts to change or modify the dysfunctional behavior by replacing them with rational thoughts. This approach is effective for anger management, coping skill training, identifying irrational automatic thoughts, and physiological responses. Meditation approaches like mindfulness are effective in treating mental and physical illnesses in a non-clinical setting. These strategies are accountable for addressing and treating both kinds of illnesses simultaneously.

Reference:

Greene, G. M. (2013). Description of a psychosocial assessment instrument and risk criteria to

support social work recommendations for kidney transplant candidates. Social Work in Health Care, 52(4), 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2013.764378

Harkness, E., Macdonald, W., Valderas, J., Coventry, P., Gask, L., & Bower, P. (2010).

Identifying psychosocial interventions that improve both physical and mental health in patients with diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes care, 33(4), 926–930. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc09-1519

(PDF) Assessment of physical illness by mental health clinicians during intake visits. (2010, January).

ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/40821647_…

DB 2—

Kelcey—

Post an explanation of the importance of mental health status assessment in the presence of physical illness.

When screening and assessing patients, it is important to view all aspects to the individual; including mental health a physical health. According to Cabassa et. al., (2013) “medical conditions and psychiatric disorders are complex and bidirectional, suggesting that medical conditions may lead to mental disorders, mental conditions may place a person at risk for medical disorders, and mental and medical disorders may share common risk factors” (p. 540).

 

Explain the specific information a social worker needs to gather during this assessment.

Specifically, a mental health status assessment in the present of physical illness is essential due to the fact the two are directly correlated to each other. According to Martin (1990) a “mental status examination is a structured assessment of the patient’s behavioral and cognitive functioning. It includes descriptions of the patient’s appearance and general behavior, level of consciousness and attentiveness, motor and speech activity, mood and affect, thought and perception, attitude and insight, the reaction evoked in the examiner, and, finally, higher cognitive abilities” (Chapter 207). Completing this assessment, allows for the evaluator (such as a medical social worker) to assess for any mental health concerns in times when a patient presents with a physical illness. A patient may be presenting with a physical concern that has triggered a negative impact to their overall well being, including their mental health if they are having troubles coping with their situation. In addition, the presenting physical issue may also be exacerbating a previously established mental health issue.

In the field of medical social work, a biopsychosocial- spiritual assessment is completed as it covers a persons biological, psychological, social and spiritual components of their life. With this holistic approach, a social worker is able to assess and evaluate all aspects to the individual and not just their presenting concern due to the fact their presenting concern may be influenced, triggers or heightened by other aspects of their lives. This approach best serves the social worker and patient in order to create and implement an appropriate treatment plan.

Describe any follow-up steps a social worker might take when a patient presents with a significant mental health issue.

When a patient is presenting with issues pertaining to different sectors of their lives, it is important to not overwhelm the patient yet effectively treat all the needs. For example, if a patient is presenting with an acute medical concern as well as suicidal ideations, it is important to medically stabilize the patient to allow for the continued mental health care to address the suicidal ideations. The relationship between the social worker and the patient would include follow up care addressing both the medical concerns as well as the mental health concerns to ensure that the patient is continuing to progress and improve in both aspects to their life to improve their overall well being.

Describe one targeted intervention that you might use in a patient with both mental and physical illness.

When individuals are presenting with severe and complex needs, an effective intervention that might best serve the patient would be to implement in home community supports to assist with the needs. This may include medication management, on going social work, assistance with ADLs as needed and assistance with other home essentials such as grocery shopping and cleaning. Ensuring a safe and supportive community support network is crucial to address the presenting concerns.

Explain one strategy that might improve a patient’s mental illness and physical illness simultaneously.

There are a lot of different interventions and strategies that might improve a patients presenting concerns. Nutrition is one strategy to look at in certain situations that may improve a patients mental health and physical illness simultaneously, depending on the presenting issues and symptoms. There are many nutritional factors that cause for negative implications for a persons mental health as well as their physical health. Diabetes, potassium levels, dehydration, food restriction and binges are just some of the examples of issues that can impact physical health and mental health. Promoting proper nutrition or placing a referral for a nutritionist would be a best practice for a social work to implement into a treatment plan.

References

Cabassa, L. J., Humensky, J., Druss, B., Lewis-Fernández, R., Gomes, A. P., Wang, S., & Blanco, C. (2013). Do race, ethnicity, and psychiatric diagnoses matter in the prevalence of multiple chronic medical conditions? Medical Care, 51(6), 540–547

Martin DC. (1990). The Mental Status Examination. In: Walker HK, Hall WD, Hurst JW, editors. Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition. Boston: Butterworths; Chapter 207. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK320/