Health assessment: Chapter 5: mental assessments

Mental health determines

an individual's coping mechanisms used to handle stress

Mental disorder

Clinically significant behavioral emotional or cognitive syndrome that is associated with significant distress or disability involving social, occupational, or key activities

organic disorders

Due to brain disease of known specific organic cause (e.g., delirium, dementia, alcohol and drug intoxication and withdrawal)

psychiatric mental illness

organic etiology has not yet been established

Developmental competence in infants and children

A lot have to do with environment

ABCT / components of the mental status exam

Appearance

Behavior

Cognition

Thought processes

Appearance for mental status exam

Is it appropriate for situation

Ex: wearing a prom dress to a doctors appointment

Behavior for mental status examination

Are they listening? Erratic

cognition for mental status exam

Can they understand and answer

Thought process for mental status exam

Is what they are saying logical?

We only do mental status examinations

When any abnormalities occur

When a full mental exam is necessary

Initial screening

Behavioral changes

Brain injury

Aphasia (impaired language)

Symptoms of mental illness

Four unrelated words test

High sensitive and valid memory test

Four unrelated words test example

Car, storm, purple, tree

Aphasia

Ability to speak or write coherently

GAD-7

anxiety screening

PHQ-9

depression screening

Denver II screening test

Tests for development milestones from children birth to 6 years

Glasgow Coma Scale

Testing consciousness in again person who has common confusion

Ex; eye opening, verbal response, and motor response

Mini-Cog

Quick screening for cognitive impairment in older adults.