Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, people, historical milestones, and practice concepts from Chapter 1, Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing.

Mental Health

A dynamic, ever-changing state influenced by individual, interpersonal, and social/cultural factors; lacks a single universal definition.

Mental Illness

Disorders of mood, behavior, or thinking that cause significant distress or impaired functioning.

Individual Factors (Mental Health)

Personal influences such as biologic makeup and intolerable or unrealistic worries or fears.

Interpersonal Factors (Mental Health)

Influences arising from relationships, e.g., ineffective communication and inadequate social support.

Social/Cultural Factors (Mental Health)

Environmental influences such as stigma, racism, classism, or a negative worldview.

DSM-5-TR

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision; standardizes language, lists defining symptoms, and aids in identifying disorder causes.

DSM-5-TR Classification

System that documents major psychiatric disorders, relevant medical conditions, and psychosocial or environmental problems affecting the client.

Ancient View of Mental Illness

Illness seen as punishment from gods or demonic possession; treatment included exorcism or prayers.

Four Humors Theory

Aristotle’s concept that imbalance of blood, water, yellow bile, and black bile caused mental disturbance; treated with bloodletting, starving, or purging.

Asylum (1790s)

Institution created during the period of enlightenment to offer moral treatment to people with mental illness.

Dorothea Dix

Advocate who spearheaded asylum reform and humane treatment of the mentally ill in the 19th century.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis who promoted scientific study and treatment of mental illness.

Psychopharmacology (1950s)

Era marked by the development of psychotropic drugs that revolutionized mental health treatment.

Community Mental Health Movement

Mid-20th-century initiative emphasizing deinstitutionalization and community-based services.

Deinstitutionalization

Policy of discharging psychiatric patients into community settings, leading to shorter hospital stays and increased reliance on outpatient care.

Revolving Door Effect

Cycle in which clients are repeatedly hospitalized, discharged, and rehospitalized due to inadequate community resources.

Disability Income Legislation

Laws providing financial support to individuals unable to work because of mental illness.

Economic Burden of Mental Illness

Total costs of mental health disorders, which exceed those of all types of cancer combined.

Homelessness and Mental Illness

Situation where about one-third of homeless individuals have severe mental illness or chronic substance use disorder.

Healthy People 2030 Objectives

National goals to reduce suicide, expand treatment access, and lower rates of major depressive episodes.

Community-Based Care

Treatment delivered in local settings; preferred despite variable quality and limited availability of services.

Managed Care Movement

1970s shift toward cost-controlled health delivery models using predefined networks and preauthorization.

Utilization Review/Managed Care Organizations

1990s firms that monitor service use and coordinate cost-effective mental health care.

Mental Health Parity

Legislation requiring insurance coverage for mental health conditions equal to physical health benefits.

Cultural Considerations

Awareness of how diverse cultural backgrounds and changing family structures influence mental health care.

Linda Richards

First American psychiatric nurse; began formal psychiatric nursing practice.

McLean Hospital

Belmont, Massachusetts site of the first nurse training program for mental health care.

Nursing Mental Diseases (1920)

First psychiatric nursing textbook, which formalized mental health content for nurses.

Johns Hopkins Psychiatric Course (1913)

First nursing school course dedicated to psychiatric nursing.

National League for Nursing (1950)

Organization that mandated clinical experience in psychiatric nursing for all nursing schools.

Hildegard Peplau

Nurse theorist who established the therapeutic nurse-client relationship and interpersonal framework for practice.

June Mellow

Pioneer emphasizing clients’ psychosocial needs and strengths in psychiatric nursing care.

Basic-Level Psychiatric Nursing Functions

Core skills including counseling, milieu therapy, self-care promotion, psychobiologic interventions, health teaching, case management, and health promotion.

Advanced-Level Psychiatric Nursing Functions

Expanded roles such as psychotherapy, prescriptive authority, consultation, program development, evaluation, and clinical supervision.

Self-Awareness

Process by which nurses recognize their own feelings, beliefs, and attitudes to provide unbiased, effective care.

Student Concerns in Psychiatric Clinicals

Common worries about saying the wrong thing, ensuring safety, managing bizarre behavior, or confronting personal issues.