Week 4 Discussion: Community Access to Mental Health Services (graded)

Sample Answer for Week 4 Discussion: Community Access to Mental Health Services (graded) Included After Question

Discussion

Access to mental health services is a hot topic in U.S. Healthcare. Do you know what resources are available for clients seeking care in your own community? Select one mental health related condition from the list below. Conduct a web search to identify health care services within your community aimed specifically at addressing this condition.

Choose one:

• Depression
• Suicidal ideation
• Opioid addiction

Answer the following questions in your post:

1. When reviewing a client’s health history and physical examination record, what are some findings (subjective and objective) that may indicate a need for further in-depth assessment for the condition you selected above?
2. Describe a focused specialty assessment tool you could use to screen the client for this condition.
3. What resources did you find in your community that address this issue? What type of services do they provide? Were there specific resources or services you were hoping to locate, and could not? Please explain.

A Sample Answer for the Assignment: Week 4 Discussion: Community Access to Mental Health Services (graded)

Title: Week 4 Discussion: Community Access to Mental Health Services (graded)

Opioid addiction is a prevalent crisis in my area. I live in a rural county so there is not much to do, and people turn to drugs for something to do. There are also many people who have chronic pain and will become addicted to opioids because of this. “The abuse may become the person’s priority in life, resulting in avoidance of responsibilities and leading to a physical withdrawal state” (Weber & Kelley, 2018). The addiction creates tensions in families and often leaves people estranged.
I work on a medical complexity mental health unit and we discharge many patients with referrals to TASC (Treatment Access & Services Center), which is a great program that refers patients to drug and alcohol programs. They do a clinical assessment for people who do not have insurance or have Medicaid. After the clinical assessment, they will determine the level of care the patient needs, whether it is detox, outpatient, or inpatient rehab. They also offer peer- to- peer outreach programs for support and assist in funding through collaboration with COCA (Council of Chemical Abuse) (Berks TASC Treatment Access & Services Center, 2020).
Our charting system has a Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale that assesses the symptoms related to opiate withdrawal, such as sweating, yawning, heart rate, restlessness, GI symptoms, anxiety/irritability, achy bones or joints, etc. It is a scoring system to help determine what level of withdrawal they are currently at. I would use this scale for anyone portraying these symptoms that has a history of substance abuse or has opiates in their urine drug screen. My unit has mental health consultants that do a further assessment that looks at how much they use, how often, and other mental health concerns they have, since mental health and substance abuse go hand in hand.

References:

Berks TASC Treatment Access & Services Center, Inc of Berks County (2020, July 23). Retrieved July 25, 2020, from https://berkstasc.org/wp/
Weber, J. R., & Kelley, J. H. (2018). Health assessment in nursing (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Depression can affect anyone at any time in their lives and everyone must be screened for depression.  Some subjective findings that would indicate the need for further assessment would be despair, anhedonia, a decrease in appetite, insomnia, overwhelming sadness, fatigue, and inability to concentrate.  Some objective findings would be anxiety, muscle tension, inability to sit still, unkempt appearance.  I would use a personal history assessment, Depression Questionnaire, and SAD PERSONS Suicide Risk Assessment (Weber, 2018, p 82).  It is important to check for substance abuse problems as people often self-medicate, I would ask about alcohol and drug abuse using the AUDIT (Weber, 2018 p 76).

I live in a smaller rural community but there are resources in the area for help with depression.  Helping Hand Behavioral Health is located in the neighboring town.  They have a variety of programs and both in and outpatient services to help with mental illness and depression.  They have evaluation and counseling services, group therapy, living skills, nutrition, and also provide transportation.  They also have pet therapy and exercise programs.  I am happy to see that they have a very well-rounded program that not only offers mental health services but promotes whole-body wellness. 

References:

Weber, J.R. & Kelley, J.H. (2018). Health assessment in nursing (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Helping Hands Behavioural Health (2020, July 27) www.helpinghandsbehavioralhealth.comLinks to an external site.

5. Grading Rubric

Discussion Criteria	A (100%) Outstanding or highest level of performance	B (87%) Very good or high level of performance	C (76%) Competent or satisfactory level of performance	F (0) Poor or failing or unsatisfactory level of performance
Answers the initial graded threaded discussion question(s)/topic(s), demonstrating knowledge and understanding of concepts for the week. 16 points	Addresses all aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding regarding all weekly concepts.16 points	Addresses most aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of most of the weekly concepts.14 points	Addresses some aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of some of the weekly concepts.12 points	Minimally addresses the initial discussion question(s) or does not address the initial question(s).0 points
Integrates evidence to support discussion. Sources are credited.* ( APA format not required) 12 points	Integrates evidence to support your discussion from:assigned readings** OR online lessons, ANDat least one outside scholarly source.***Sources are credited.*12 points	Integrates evidence to support discussion from:assigned readings OR online lesson.Sources are credited.*10 points	Integrates evidence to support discussion only from an outside source with no mention of assigned reading or lesson.Sources are credited.*9 points	Does not integrate any evidence.0 points
Engages in meaningful dialogue with classmates or instructor before the end of the week. 14 points	Responds to a classmate and/or instructor’s post furthering the dialogue by providing more information and clarification, thereby adding much depth to the discussion.14 points	Responds to a classmate and/or instructor furthering the dialogue by adding some depth to the discussion.12 points	Responds to a classmate and/or instructor but does not further the discussion.10 points	No response post to another student or instructor.0 points
Communicates in a professional manner. 8 points	Presents information using clear and concise language in an organized manner (minimal errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).8 points	Presents information in an organized manner (few errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).7 points	Presents information using understandable language but is somewhat disorganized (some errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).6 points	Presents information that is not clear, logical, professional or organized to the point that the reader has difficulty understanding the message (numerous errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and/or punctuation).0 points
PARTICIPATION: Response to initial question: Responds to initial discussion question(s) by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. M.T.	0 points lostStudent posts an answer to the initial discussion question(s) by Wednesday, 11:59 p . m. MT.		-5 pointsStudent does not post an answer to the initial discussion question(s) by Wednesday, 11:59 p . m. MT.
PARTICIPATION Total posts: Participates in the discussion thread at least three times on at least two different days.	0 points lostPosts in the discussion at least three times AND on two different days.		-5 pointsPosts fewer than three times OR does not participate on at least two different days.