Mental health articles
OF mental health care and mentally ill
June, 2013
The rationale for interventions
Although the literature exploring the benefits of improved medication compliance is limited, there is a strong rationale for addressing this area for the following reasons. The first is a moral-ethical one, related to symptom reduction/relief and improving and maintaining the perceived quality/quality of life of the client; taking into account the holistic needs of the […]
Tags: interventions
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Symptom management techniques
Although symptom management techniques may not produce fundamental changes, they facilitate progress by reducing distressing feelings, such as anger, anxiety, fear and worry, and making them manageable to enable other behavioural techniques to take place. Three symptom-management techniques are mentioned here: controlled breathing, tension-release exercises and coping cards. Controlled breathing he aim of controlled breathing […]
Tags: symptom
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Techniques to generate alternative interpretations and constructive ideas
This is perhaps the most difficult part of cognitive restructuring because the practitioner may be able to see the alternatives, but needs to facilitate the individual client to arrive at these alternatives using one or more of the techniques outlined below. The alternative interpretation or constructive idea is phrased as a hypothesis, i.e. a theory […]
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Defining deliberate self-harm
The language used to describe how and why people harm themselves can reflect the judgements that are often made about this client group: ‘self-abuse’ and ‘self-mutilation’ assume emotive aspects such as guilt or self-loathing, whereas purely descriptive terms such as ‘cutting’ or ‘blood letting’ convey neither the choice that the client has made nor the […]
Tags: self harm
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The relationship between self-harm and suicide
In England, around 5000 people per year kill themselves, and suicide is the most common cause of death in men under 35. It is important to remember that the death of an individual impacts on his community, family and society in general. One of the target groups that the government has identified for reducing suicide […]
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Possible indicators of anger and aggression
Possible antecedents are indicated when the person: focuses attention on what is causing anger and continues to dwell on this; perceives threat from others or is suspicious; reacts in an exaggerated manner to problems; shows increased physical arousal – restlessness, pacing, erratic movements; shows increased volume of speech; has a tense facial expression – fixed […]
Tags: aggression, anger
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Understanding reasons for anger or aggression
As well as the clinical and social factors underlying aggression, the individual’s specific situation has to be considered. The person may have experienced (or perceive that they have experienced) personal criticism, restriction or control, unfair treatment, frustration of intentions or the irritating behaviour of others. Nurses, therefore, need to be aware of what is happening […]
Tags: aggression, anger
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Exploring the language of medication management
The use and understanding of the language in this area has significant meaning and impact for professional practice. The literature reveals a development in terminology reflected in a shift in the balance of power of the relationship/alliance of the prescriber and health care workers with the client. Overall, this describes a change in value, from […]
Tags: medication, medication management
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Cognitive and behavioural techniques: segregation or integration?
Although behavioural and cognitive techniques stem from different theoretical backgrounds (behaviour therapy from learning theories and cognitive therapy from information processing theories), in practice they are inextricably bound because any changes in behaviour may influence one’s thinking and any changes in thinking are usually reflected in one’s behaviour. Let us take, for example, the task […]
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Techniques to identify misinterpretations and unhelpful ideas
The first stage in cognitive restructuring is to identify the content and occurrence of thoughts associated with a problem and rate (a) the person’s conviction in them, and (b) the person’s feelings and responses to them. This could be achieved in several ways: •Keeping thought-monitoring records for a specific period of time, detailing the situation […]
Tags: misinterpretations
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