Mental Health Assessments
An assessment is a crucial instrument for helping people know their mental health. There are a variety of tools, ranging from standardized to self-reports, that are used by professionals to help with this.
The most common is a mental state examination, which helps counselors and doctors look at a client's appearance, attitude and activity mood and emotions, thoughts and insights.
Signs and symptoms
People who suffer from mental health problems often have changes in their emotions, thinking and behaviour. These changes can affect their ability work and socialize. Mental illness is a real health condition and many of the same issues that affect our physical health are related to our mental health, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Everyone experiences ups and downs in their mood. If these changes are severe and last a long period of time, they could be a sign you suffer from a mental disorder. Common symptoms include changes in sleep, eating or energy levels, a drastic increase or decrease in feelings such as sadness, anger or happiness, difficulty recalling information or concentrating and feeling tired all the time. If you're concerned about your loved ones, it's important not to ignore them. Making contact with a helpline, or contacting an expert in health can help stop mental health issues getting worse.
These changes are often caused by life events like the loss of work, family issues or a major accident. It is crucial to seek treatment for mental illness in order to prevent it from affecting your relationships or work. Certain conditions can be treated by medication or counselling. Some conditions require hospital treatment.
There are more than 200 mental disorders that could be classified, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia anxiety disorders and depression. Some of them can be life-threatening. Others are less severe and do not interfere with everyday life, like certain fears.
Mental health can be affected in many ways, including genetics and biological differences, life experiences stress, lifestyle choices and the way society treats its members. It is important to realize that mental illness shouldn't be treated with shame. It can be treated, just like heart disease.
Mental illness is treatable and a lot of sufferers will recover with right treatment. This could include psychotherapy (talk therapy) or medication like antidepressants and sedatives. A combination of treatments is typically the most effective. Some people find that self-help groups and support groups are helpful as well.
History
A mental health history is an essential element of any examination. In addition to looking at the signs and symptoms, and performing psychological tests, a psychiatrist will need to be aware of your medical history and whether you have any family members suffering from mental illnesses. They will inquire about your current medications, as well as any drug or alcohol use you have experienced in the past. In some cases doctors may ask you to keep a diary of your symptoms or bring your family member or friend along so they can get an accurate description from their viewpoint.
For some an assessment of their mental health is a first step in finding treatment for a problem. It is typically initiated by a doctor or another professional who refers the patient but it could also be initiated directly by the individual. The psychiatric examination will provide the professional with the information required to make an informed diagnosis.
For the majority of recorded the history of mankind, Western civilization's view of mental illness was based on supernatural forces and demonic possession, which led to primitive treatment methods like drilling a hole into the head (trepanning). The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rise of a more humane approach to treating the mentally ill, as doctors began to abandon these superstitions and adopt logical explanations/theories for their patients.
Today, the term "mental health" is used in two ways: to refer to a state of well-being; as an umbrella term that covers psychiatry as well as psychotherapy. Mental health is being pushed to become its own discipline. However, there has not been an absolute distinction between it and psychotherapy.
The definition of mental health varies depending on the culture, but most systems incorporate elements like self-realization feeling of accomplishment, happiness; and a sense of control over one's surroundings. These criteria are influenced however, by cultural norms that can exclude those who have not reached their full potential, people who live with low incomes or in areas of poverty, and minorities that experience discrimination and reject. Other assessment tools can be used to assess the health of a person's mental state. These include the DSM-5 Checklist, which lists of specific disorders and the Life Events Checklist which can screen for potentially distressing or traumatic events that occur in the life of a patient.
Physical Examination
A medical doctor or psychiatrist will typically conduct a physical examination of a person suspected of having mental health issues. The exam can be part of a comprehensive physical exam or when a doctor suspects a specific illness, such as dementia, schizophrenia or addiction to drugs. The exam provides an opportunity to examine the person's appearance, emotional state and their response to questions.
The doctor will ask about the duration of symptoms and if there is an ancestral history of mental illness. The doctor will also inquire about any medications the patient is taking or has taken in the past, including over-the-counter medications and supplements.
A psychiatric examination is essential because it can help figure out what's happening within the patient and what type of treatment could assist. A diagnosis is crucial and, based on the final diagnoses a patient might require inpatient treatment or medication. The diagnosis is usually done in an inpatient hospital. However, some individuals might have a mental evaluation done at home by an authorized professional.
One of the most important components of an assessment of mental health is the assessment of cognitive function. This includes the ability of paying attention, retaining and organizing information, solving problems and making decisions. It also includes basic social skills, such as the ability to interact with other people. The assessment of cognition involves testing the spontaneity of a person and the quality of their speech, by having them answer open-ended questions, or complete short stories that are standardized. The evaluation of thought content requires the examination of a variety of things, such as hallucinations that may be auditory, visual or olfactory. delusions of special powers or status, or even being a target for other people; paranoid thinking and irrational fears; obsessive and compulsive behavior and compulsions; looseness of association (making unrelated connections between various subjects) and depressive or suicidal thoughts. Sometimes, clinical tests are needed in conjunction with a mental health assessment including blood work or magnetic resonance imaging to rule out other conditions and disorders that may cause similar symptoms as mental illnesses.
Tests
The mental state exam is a method to evaluate the patient's condition by watching and asking questions. A health professional observes the patient's behavior and mood, their level mental health private of activity, as well as their general appearance. It could also comprise a series written or verbal tests, including standardized rating systems that assess symptoms. The MMPI-2 is a standard depression test. There are a myriad of other tests that assess anxiety, intelligence levels and autism.
A patient's medical history and physical exam can provide crucial information that can help determine if the symptoms are due to a psychological disorder or medical condition such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, or addiction to drugs. Certain physical conditions like certain kinds of tumors or selective brain lesions, can present with similar symptoms as mental disorders. These conditions might require testing in a clinic or laboratory, like blood tests, CT scans, or MRIs, in addition to a complete mental health assessment.
Psychological testing is an essential part of an assessment of mental health and can provide valuable information about how a patient is able to think, recalls, and interacts with other people. The information obtained from these tests can aid the health care professional determine the various signs like hallucinations (the perception of an object, person or event that isn't real) or looseness of association (the tendency to make unrelated connections between subjects).
A psychiatric health assessment could include questions regarding the patient's family history of mental illness and other diseases. It will cover how long the symptoms have been present, the severity of their effects and whether they interfere with daily activities. The patient will be asked about previous psychiatric illnesses and the treatment they received.
The patient should be honest in their answers as this will help the health professional gain a better understanding of the health of the person. During the interview, the health care professional will be listening to the patient's conversation and how they interact. They will also inquire about any drugs or supplements the patient is taking, both prescription and non-prescription and how they affect their mental health.