Mental Health Case Study
Case Study, Mohr: CHAPTER 1, Introduction to Psychiatric–Mental Health Nursing
In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objectives:
Explain elements tha
...
Mental Health Case Study
Case Study, Mohr: CHAPTER 1, Introduction to Psychiatric–Mental Health Nursing
In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objectives:
Explain elements that contribute to mental health.
Review trends, problems, and goals related to the delivery of mental health care and
treatment of mental illness.
1. Karen is a 25-year-old white woman who lives alone in an apartment with her dog. Karen
has been divorced for 2 years and is taking Prozac prescribed by her psychiatrist for
depression. Karen and her boyfriend had been discussing marriage until he told her that he
wanted to end their relationship. Karen became even more depressed and could not work for
a week. Karen returned to work, refusing to discuss her issues with family, friends, or
coworkers. She did, however, make an appointment to see a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Karen told the nurse that she was making some changes in her life. Karen said that she and a
girlfriend were joining a gym program for workouts and a social group for young men and
women. Karen stated that she realizes that her former boyfriend had not been committed to
her, and she anticipates meeting and dating other young men from the adult social group.
Karen also said that she thinks that the gym exercise will be beneficial to her mentally and
physically.
Case Study, Mohr: CHAPTER 2, Neuroscience: Biology and Behavior
In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objectives:
Discuss neuroplasticity and how this concept relates to mental health and mental illness.
Briefly explain the importance of interaction between genes and environment, the role of
endophenotypes, and the stress-diathesis model of psychiatric illness.
1. Michael is a 22-year-old college senior whose GPA has declined with this semester’s
grades. Michael plans to apply to medical school and thinks that the lower GPA may
prevent his acceptance to medical school. For the last 2 weeks, Michael has skipped most
classes because he has insomnia and fatigue. Michael is now very depressed and has been
thinking of suicide. He took a loaded gun from his father’s gun cabinet and then wrote a
suicide note to his family. At the last moment, he telephoned 911 and told them of his
suicide plan. The police came, took the gun away, and then took Michael to the city
hospital to be admitted for psychiatric treatment. In the admission interview with the
psychiatric nurse, Michael said that his pastor thought that only weak-willed people
experienced depression and that it was a punishment for personal sins and the sins of one’s
ancestors. Michael told the nurse that he must be weak-willed and will never be able to
accomplish anything. The psychiatric nurse explained that multiple factors are the cause
of depression. The nurse told Michael that one theory holds that an imbalance of
neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers of the brain, occurs in depression.
Neurotransmitters influence the individual’s emotions, thoughts, and subsequent behavior.
Recent research implies that neurobiology, heredity, as well as Psychological and
environmental factors may be involved in the development and progression of depression.
Case Study, Mohr
CHAPTER 3, Conceptual Frameworks and Theories:
In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objective:
Give examples of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions.
The student nurse has been assigned a 37-year-old woman admitted to the psychiatric
hospital with an anxiety disorder. This morning, the student notices that the client has a
tense facial expression and is walking constantly around the group room. The student
walked over to the client and used reflective communication by stating, “I see that you have
a tense expression and are walking around almost all of the time. Is there something that
we could discuss?” The client replied that she has talked on the telephone to her mother
who was keeping her children while she was in the hospital. The client said that her mother
had told her that she was not a good mother, and then said, “I guess I am a bad mother, but
I could never measure up to my mother’s expectations.” The student has learned that
negative self-talk can greatly aggravate anxiety and lead to depression. The student
decided to use a behavioral intervention with the client and asked the client who is a good
artist and why the client liked the artist’s works. The student and the client then made a list
of activities that the client liked. The student taught the client to engage in one of these
activities when an unpleasant experience evoked negative thoughts. The following day, the
student decided that the client needed some cognitive restructuring for her relationship
with her mother. The student taught the client that during discussions with her mother,
feelings of incompetence might be experienced when the mother made negative comments.
The client was instructed that if her mother made negative comments about parenting, she
was to immediately tell her mother that she was a good parent to her children and
terminate the conversation at the first opportunity.
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