Mental Health Assessment
Mental health illnesses cannot be tested for and is not visible; history is essentially everything.
The goal of the assessment is first to build a relationship with the patient. Obtaining a psychiatric history is the second thing.
During an interview, seek to identify:
- what is their means of thinking, feeling, and acting?
- what is their level of resiliency?
- how sick are they? how much is the health of their mind compromised?
- What are the predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors?
It is important to assess suitability for therapy, which refers to a patient's psychology and personality, type of therapy sought, and therapeutic alliance.
Biological
psychological
social
Ask patients:
- what is wellness?
- where are you?
- what are the barriers preventing you from getting to wellness?
- what supports do you need?
- psychiatric history
- mental status examination
- mini-mental status examination (MMSE)
- screening for mental health
- difficult interviews
Assessing Specific Psychiatric Conditions
Clincial ratings scales
Rating scales tend to originate from research protocols, where heterogeneous patient populations are categorized to control for various characteristics. They also allow for more objective follow-up in regards to response to therapy. Lastly, they help new learners organize their approach and gain confidence. They are supposed to be a-theoretical. Diagnostic criteria help with:
- treatment and management
- follow-up and evaluation of treatments
- easier communication among health care providers
- counseling of risk
- HamD = Hamilton Depression score
- Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS)
- Global Outcome Scale
- Strauss-Carpenter Scale
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