Mental Health Nursing: Grief, Abuse, and Eating Disorders

Vocabulary flashcards covering grief processes, complicated and disenfranchised grief, trauma and abuse interventions, and eating disorder assessments and treatments.

Grieving

The overall, predominantly internal process of responding to loss, which may be less outwardly visible or auditory than mourning.

Mourning

The outward, external expression of grief and loss.

Imminent

A condition or threat that is certain to occur and requires immediate nursing action, such as prioritizing physiological needs or using restraints as a last resort.

Anticipatory Grieving

The process of grieving before an impending death or loss occurs, often experienced in hospice care or with chronic terminal conditions.

Assault Cycle

A behavioral progression where a client is triggered, becomes anxious and frustrated, escalates into a crisis phase, and subsequently de-escalates.

Disenfranchised Grief

A form of complicated grief where the loss is not socially recognized, validated, or supported publicly, such as the loss of a pet, a miscarriage, an abortion, an affair, or a same-gender partner.

Prolonged Grief Disorder

A diagnostic condition under complicated grief where a client remains in persistent denial, experiences an inability to function, and feels as though part of themselves died at least $1\text{ year}$ after the loss.

Voicing Doubt

A therapeutic communication intervention used when a client remains in prolonged denial, gently questioning their inaccurate perception while acknowledging the reality of the loss.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Physical or psychological abuse between domestic partners, which can produce long-term complications and dependency in observing children if the non-abusing partner does not intervene.

Release of Information (ROI)

A formal authorization that an adult behavioral health client must sign to allow healthcare staff to disclose clinical information to designated callers or providers.

Acknowledgment of Presence (AOP)

A client's permission permitting staff to confirm their physical presence on a behavioral health unit to a caller without releasing any clinical or condition details.

Orthorexia

An eating disorder characterized by an extreme, obsessive preoccupation with consuming only healthy foods, intense ingredient scrutiny, and rigid calorie counting.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by earlier adolescent onset, extreme weight loss, low body frame, and an attitude of denial with limited insight into the illness.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by later onset, near-normal body frame size, tooth enamel erosion from purging, and heightened feelings of guilt and emotional awareness.

Fluoxetine

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant utilized in the psychopharmacological management of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Consistent Weighing Protocol

A nursing action for eating disorder clients involving daily morning weigh-ins using the exact same scale and same clothing, with the client positioned with their back to the numbers.

Imipramine

A tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) utilized in the pharmacological management of bulimia nervosa, as well as for depression and elimination disorders.

Primary Pharmacological Classification for Bulimia Nervosa

Antidepressants, which are consistently chosen to address the guilt, emotional dysregulation, and depressive symptoms characteristic of the disorder.

Non-Antidepressant Drug Classes Prescribed for Anorexia Nervosa

Antihistamines and atypical antipsychotics, both of which are utilized alongside antidepressants to support clinical management.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

A specific antidepressant class that is rarely endorsed or prescribed routinely due to strict dietary restrictions, but occasionally ordered by providers for bulimia nervosa.

Intimate Partner Violence Safety Assessment

A clinical protocol in which staff redirect the partner or spouse to a separate room to interview the client privately regarding their safety and potential domestic abuse.

Post-Meal Observation Protocol

The practice of closely supervising clients with eating disorders during and immediately following meal times to prevent food hoarding, trading, spitting out, or purging.

Nutritional Refusal Intervention in Eating Disorders

Administering an alternative liquid nutritional supplement or shake to sustain physiological needs when a client refuses their scheduled meal tray.

Trauma-Informed Physical Boundaries

Maintaining interpersonal space and obtaining explicit permission prior to touching or initiating close contact to avoid triggering acute psychological distress in abuse survivors.

Behavioral Health Caller Verification Protocol

Requiring external phone callers to supply pre-designated client identifiers independently rather than the nurse asking leading questions or confirming identity directly.

Target Discharge Weight Pitfall

A counterproductive management strategy that ties inpatient discharge strictly to a specific scale reading, which often provokes deceptive or manipulative client behaviors.

Client Autonomy Assessment in Acute Assault

The nursing action of empowering an assaulted client by directly asking if they consent to forensic and medical testing and whether they wish to press legal charges.