NCMP117 MIDTERM LEC

CHAPTER 9: LEGAL & ETHICAL ISSUES

Rights of Clients and Related Issues

  • Clients receiving mental health care retain all civil rights, except the right to leave the hospital in cases of involuntary commitment.

Highlights of Patient’s Bill of Rights

  • Informed about treatment: Clients should be informed about the benefits, qualifications of all providers, treatment options, appeals, and grievance procedures.

  • Least restrictive environment: Clients have the right to treatment in the least restrictive environment suitable for their needs.

  • Confidentiality: Clients' privacy must be respected and safeguarded.

  • Choice of providers: Clients can choose their health care providers.

  • Professional determination of treatment: Treatment decisions should be made by professionals, not by third-party payers.

  • Parity: Ensuring equality between mental and physical health treatment plans.

  • Nondiscrimination: Treatment without discrimination based on race, color, gender, etc.

  • Comprehensive benefits: All benefits within the scope of the client's plan should be honored.

  • Accountability: Professionals and payers must be held accountable for harm caused by negligence or poor clinical decisions.

Involuntary Hospitalization

  • Health care professionals must respect a client's wishes unless they are a danger to themselves or others (e.g., suicidal ideation).

  • Clients may be hospitalized involuntarily until they pose no danger to themselves or others.

  • Emergency detentions can last 48 to 72 hours until a hearing is held to determine commitment.

Release from the Hospital

  • Clients admitted voluntarily can leave unless they are deemed a risk to themselves or others.

Mandatory Outpatient Treatment

  • Clients may be required to continue treatment involuntarily after hospital discharge, which may include medication adherence and follow-up appointments.

  • This is sometimes referred to as conditional release or outpatient commitment.

Conservatorship and Guardianship

  • Conservatorship: A conservator manages the financial affairs of a client unable to do so themselves.

  • Guardianship: Courts appoint guardians to manage personal affairs and ensure clients receive necessary care.

  • Clients with guardians cannot enter into legal contracts, and consent must be obtained from the guardian.

Least Restrictive Environment

  • Clients should be free from restraints or seclusion unless absolutely necessary.

  • Restraint: The direct application of physical force without consent.

  • Mechanical restraints: Devices like cuffs used to limit physical aggression.

  • Seclusion: Involuntary confinement in a locked room monitored for safety.

Confidentiality and Duty to Warn

  • Governed by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) with civil and criminal penalties for breaches.

  • Duty to warn: Clinicians may need to inform third parties if a client poses a danger to them, considering specific criteria like the seriousness and accessibility of the threat.

Insanity Defense

  • M’Naghten Rule: A defendant is not criminally responsible if they did not understand the nature of the act or recognize it as wrong due to mental illness.

  • Irresistible Impulse: The inability to control actions due to mental illness.

  • Substantial Capacity Test: Lacks significant capability to understand that the act was wrong.

  • Durham Rule: Excuses behavior if caused by mental illness.

Torts

  • Tort: A wrongful act resulting in harm or injury.

  • Unintentional Torts:

    • Negligence: Harm resulting from failing to meet a standard of care.

    • Malpractice: Professional negligence by the health care provider.

  • Intentional Torts:

    • Assault: Causing fear of harmful contact.

    • Battery: Actual harmful contact with the client.

    • False imprisonment: Unlawful restraint.

    • Prevention: Safe, competent care and thorough documentation can minimize lawsuits.

Ethical Issues

  • Ethics involves the principles guiding right and wrong actions.

    • Utilitarianism: The best action offers the greatest good.

    • Deontology: Moral obligation over consequences.

    • Autonomy: Right to self-determination.

    • Beneficence: Promote good for others.

    • Nonmaleficence: Avoid causing harm.

    • Justice: Fairness in treatment.

    • Veracity: Commitment to truth.

    • Fidelity: Honor commitments.

  • Ethical Dilemma: Conflict of ethical principles without a clear resolution.

CHAPTER 10: GRIEF AND LOSS

Grief and Grieving

  • Grief: Subjective emotional response to loss.

  • Grieving (Bereavement): The process of experiencing grief,

  • Anticipatory grieving: Preparing for an imminent loss.

  • Mourning: Outward expression of grief.

Types of Losses

  • Hierarchically starts with physiologic needs and safety, moving to relational and self-esteem needs.

  • Physiologic loss: Amputation, loss of mobility.

  • Safety loss: Results from violence or abuse.

  • Loss of security: Relationships ending, such as through death.

  • Loss related to self-esteem: Changes in self-worth.

  • Loss of self-actualization: Blockage of fulfillment.

Theories of Grieving (Kübler-Ross)

  1. Denial: Initial shock and disbelief.

  2. Anger: Directed towards self or others.

  3. Bargaining: Hope to postpone loss.

  4. Depression: Deep realization of loss.

  5. Acceptance: Coming to terms with loss.

Dimensions of Grieving

  • Cognitive: Seeking understanding of the loss.

  • Emotional: Various feelings expressed.

  • Spiritual: Exploration of beliefs related to loss.

  • Behavioral: Actions taken in response to grief.

  • Physiologic: Physical manifestations of grief.

Nurse’s Role

  • Encourage clients to engage in meaningful grieving activities (e.g., rituals, memorials).

  • Recognize disenfranchised grief: Unacknowledged loss affecting relationships.

  • Vulnerability factors: Impact from lack of recognition of loss can include nontraditional grieving relationships.

Complicated Grieving

  • Unusual reactions, prolonged grief, or emotion void.

  • Characteristics of Susceptibility: Includes low self-image, psychiatric history, and unhelpful familial support.

CHAPTER 11: ANGER, HOSTILITY, AND AGGRESSION

Anger and Related Concepts

  • Anger: Natural emotion in response to provocation that must be managed.

  • Hostility: Expressed through abuse and disruptive behavior.

  • Physical aggression: Active harm or damage to others or property.

Catharsis and Aggression Phases

  • Catharsis: Expressive activities to manage anger.

  • Stages in aggressive incidents:

    1. Triggering Phase

    2. Escalation Phase

    3. Crisis Phase

    4. Recovery Phase

    5. Post Crisis Phase

Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)

  • Characterized by impulsive aggressive outbursts leading to harm or damage.

Aggression Etiology

  • Neurobiological Factors: Impact of serotonin and brain structure on aggression.

  • Psychosocial Factors: Emotional responses to rejection and control desires can lead to aggression, and culture-bound syndromes exist.

Treatment for Aggression

  • Medications: Carbamazepine and Valproate for aggression; atypical antipsychotics such as Clozapine, Risperidone, and Olanzapine are beneficial.

  • Benzodiazepines: Reduce agitation in older patients but can complicate issues in those without dementia.

Nursing Process for Aggression

  • Assessment: Identify factors influencing aggression in the milieu.

  • Five-Phase Aggression Cycle: Observe and address escalating behaviors effectively.

  • Nursing Diagnosis: Risk for other-directed violence and ineffective coping.

  • Intervention: Create structured environments to decrease aggressive behaviors, employ de-escalation techniques, and manage crisis situations empathetically while ensuring safety.

CHAPTER 12: ABUSE AND VIOLENCE

Abuse Definition and Clinical Picture

  • Abuse: Wrongful use and mistreatment of individuals, affecting individuals across the lifespan.

  • Victims may present with physical injuries and complex emotional issues.

  • Common emotional responses include guilt, low self-esteem, and erratic emotional reactions.

Characteristics of Violent Families

  • Isolation: Families often avoid contact with others.

  • Power and Control: The abuser usually dominates through power dynamics.

  • Abuse often perpetuates through generations.

Intimate Partner Violence

  • Domestic violence: Occurs equally across genders and sexual orientations, marked by control and fear cycles.

Assessment and Intervention for Victims

  • Assess for physical injuries and emotional states; develop safety plans.

  • Resources include shelters and restraining orders to provide protection.

Child Abuse Types

  • Physical: Abusive punishment causing injuries.

  • Sexual: Involves engagement of children in sexual acts.

  • Neglect: Withholding necessities for well-being.

  • Psychological: Emotional harm through verbal abuse.

Elder Abuse Characteristics and Indicators

  • Elder victims often show signs of neglect or maltreatment in caregiver settings, experiencing physical injuries, emotional distress, or material abuse.

CHAPTER 13: TRAUMA AND STRESSOR-RELATED DISORDER

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  • PTSD: Develops after trauma, with symptoms such as nightmares, hyperarousal, and negative cognition often worsening over time if untreated.

  • Treatment should aim for early intervention through therapy and counseling.

Dissociation and Related Disorders

  • Dissociation: A mental defense mechanism against trauma, leading to memory loss and identity fragmentation.

  • Defines various dissociative disorders such as dissociative identity disorder, amnesia, and detachment experiences.

Nursing Process and Treatment

  • Involve group therapy and SSRI medications in managing PTSD among patients, ensuring thorough monitoring for safety.

CHAPTER 14: ANXIETY AND ANXIETY DISORDER

Anxiety Overview

  • Anxiety: A response to perceived threats, leading to varied psychological and physical symptoms.

  • Distinction between anxiety and fear lies in the context of perceived danger.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

  1. Panic Disorder: Characterized by sudden, intense fear episodes.

  2. Agoraphobia: Fear of situations where escape might be difficult.

  3. Specific and Social Anxiety Disorder: Persistent fears impacting daily functioning.

Treatment Approaches

  • Include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), medications such as SSRIs, and exposure therapies.


Summary of Key Concepts

  • Condensed the intricacies of mental health laws, ethical concerns in practice, various grieving processes, anger management, patterns of abuse, trauma-related disorders, and the spectrum of anxiety disorders as fundamental elements in understanding effective nursing interventions and care.