Mental Health Assessments

 

Mental health assessments can be intimidating especially when it’s a situation that is that is alarming. The panic button is pressed usually when the patient or a loved one experiences a major melt down of some kind. Many people suffer from anxiety or experience mood swings. More severe situations may be psychotic episodes that can include hallucinations. Such conditions vary in severity and require various interventions and treatment plans. However for the most part the intimidating factor can be seen as a new beginning that allows the patient to reinvent themselves.  An assessment is the first step toward the process of healing and practitioners are usually skilled at normalizing the matter.

 

So, how does something so scary become normal so that it decreases our anxiety? The job of the practitioner is to help the patient understand some things that are very important. First, the message is that the patient is not alone and that we are there for them. Secondly, it should be conveyed that crisis is an opportunity for change. And most importantly the prognosis or future is going to improve with help.

So how does this occur and how can a practitioner make such promises? The answer is present in the formal agreement established early on between Patient and practitioner. The first step can be seen as an investigative one. Practitioners will want to get a complete history in order to determine diagnoses if any is appropriate. This requires an interview that encompasses learning about the patient’s family background, medical history and/or traumatic experiences if applicable. Patients should be made to understand that diagnoses are merely a labels and labels can change. This normalizes things as it is fairly safe to say that everyone has a history that represents some tendencies that leave us susceptible to having a meltdown. In other words, such tendencies can escalate, at any time, causing us to require professional help. To name a few situations it can be a loss of a loved one, divorce, an earth shattering experience or financial crisis that leads us to a meltdown. As a practitioner I want to learn these things about the patient before reaching any conclusions. Life is fragile and one turn or another can change our whole perspective on things.