Mental health overview and contemporary issues

Mental Health

Journal Entries

On this day the staff was introduced to the various patients and the overall expectations of the project. During this stage is when there were various social activities that occurred to help acquaint everyone to each other. We then, went over the requirements and talked about our clinical experiences. (Lynch, 2011)

During this session we worked with a 54-year-old male patient, who had come to University Memorial with severe depression. He is exhibiting obsessive behavior that is hurting his relationship with others. At the same time, he has been diagnosed with: schizophrenia and dementia. This has caused the patient's underlying levels of physical health to decrease. During our interview, we determined that the patient was very agitated and easily lost focus on one particular topic. Instead, he was concentrating on issues that were disempowering such as: the previous facility he was at called East Eager Street. This is important, because it is showing how the patient is being affected by number of disorders that are having an effect on his perceptions of reality and mental health. (Lynch, 2011)

8/18/2011

On this day, we were visiting with a 31-year-old white Caucasian male. He was admitted to University Memorial on August 15th. This is following a recent suicide attempt with a prescription drug called Ambient. He was voluntarily admitted to the facility based upon: him being disorientated and in a depressed mood. The patient's previous case history includes an unsuccessful suicide attempt 11 years ago. At which point, a combination of one on one therapy with select medication were used as the treatment options. During this meeting our goal was to have the patient express his feelings and focus on one single task. The results were that he was able to concentrate on short-term goals and ultimately what he can do to improve his situation. This changed his state of mind in comparison to when I first greeted him. As he was: very depressed and concerned about his financial situation because of a recent divorce. (Lynch, 2011)

8/25/2011

On this day we visited with a 44-year-old African-American male. He is suffering from depression and has been known for abusing controlled substances (i.e. cocaine as well as alcohol). This individual was transferred to University Memorial following an attempted suicide with 11 pills of Tylenol. Our goals are have the patient focus on one single task and to change their underlying state. During our conversation with this individual, we asked a series of different questions that allowed us to understand why he was upset. Most notably: his wife wanted a divorce, his kids were grown and he was fearful that he might be all alone. The combination of these different element meant that the patient became very depressed about his life. However, after I told we can help him to be able to not feel so alone the patient was comforted. (Lynch, 2011)

9/1/2011

During this session we are meeting with a 52-year-old African-American female who is suffering from Bi Polar Disorder and is having episodes of psychotic fueled outbursts. This patient was involuntarily admitted on August 17th and is showing signs of aggressive behavior. In this interaction, our goals are to have them focus on one single task and to help them express their feelings. The problems that we encountered are that this individual is very defensive, blaming and delusional. As, she was focused on: who took her clothes, changing her doctor, why she was at the hospital and how she cannot do what she wants. This is important, because any one of these issues could lead to heated outbursts from the patient. As a result, we were able to sway her attention for only a short while. At which point, the patient would begin engaging in the same kinds of destructive behavior as before. (Lynch, 2011)

9/8/2011

On this day, we said good bye to the staff members and patients as we were wrapping up the project. What learned from our experiences is that patients who are suffering from a number of conditions can be able to express themselves and focus more effectively. The main issue that we encountered was resistance from the patient themselves. As, any kind of changes must take place from within, based upon their desire to deal with the challenges that they are facing. (Lynch, 2011)