Respond to your colleague by providing at least two ways that their strategies may be expanded or improved.
NOTE: Positive comment
Main Post
Clinicians of all kinds tend to come into contact with victims of abuse many times. This includes children who have been abused and molested in different ways such as Morgan in the Case study. Victims of abuse are susceptible to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. There is a very high connection between psychological outcomes in adults and childhood maltreatment (Kisely et al., 2018). To put it differently, childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for mental health issues in adulthood. This can be seen in Morgan’s case. he is already 19 and an adult but he suffers from mental health issues because he was molested as a child by his cousin.
Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners might interact with victims of child abuse more than other clinicians because of the psychological outcomes that are associated with child abuse and molestation. In some cases, the victim may not be able to open up and point detailed information about their past such as abuse and molestation. In such a case, the PMHNP should have different strategies that can be used to make an assessment and conclude that a client might be a victim of child abuse. For example, during a client’s comprehensive assessment, physical assessment must be done. During a physical assessment, a clinician should be able to detect cases of physical trauma that the patient may find hard to explain. An assessment also requires questions to be asked about trauma history. Here, the client can be asked to point out ten most significant disturbing events in their lives (Wheeler, 2013). This is an opportunity to prompt the client to provide detailed information about possible cases of child abuse. In order to be effective there is need to make sure that the client can trust the process. A rapport should be created from the very beginning of interacting with the client to make sure that the client feels comfortable to share details that he would rather not. Morgan has been silent about this for a long time and therefore he has not been able to get over the trauma. This is an opportunity to make sure that he is able to share as a way of helping him face his disturbances. This will help in coming up with treatment strategies that suit his needs. When it comes to psychotherapy, communication is considered as the core element. It is the verbal and non-verbal interaction between the PMHNP and the client that helps in developing a fulfilling psychotherapeutic relationship (Del Giacco, Salcuni & Anguera, 2019).
Thus, in brief, the best ways of assessing a patient to determine a case of abuse is through physical assessment and proper communication that builds on trust. These are strategies that will push the client out of a comfort zone where they feel not sharing keeps them safe. Communication that builds on trust allows the client to feel like he is in a safe place. This should be reinforced by the commitment from the PMHNP that information shared during counselling cannot be shared with any other person. Indeed, this might take time, but the client will eventually learn to open up completely.
Being exposed to the media and social media might be helpful or bad for the client. This depends on the content that he views or reads online. Social media might have content that allows him to cope with his disturbances such as excessive worry and changes in mood. However, reading or viewing the wrong content might exacerbate his distress. During the counselling sessions, he should be asked what content he consumes the most online. This is to allow the clinician to recommend areas or content that he can focus on or completely avoid. Child abuse should be reported in the United States. This is mandatory requirement. The reporting should be done to a child protective service agency or the police, depending on the requirements and policies in a state. In this case, reporting will not be necessary because Morgan’s cousin was already arrested and convicted for abuse and molestation.
References
Del Giacco, L., Salcuni, S., & Anguera, M. T. (2019). The communicative modes analysis system in psychotherapy from mixed methods framework: introducing a new observation system for classifying verbal and non-verbal communication. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 782
Kisely, S., Abajobir, A. A., Mills, R., Strathearn, L., Clavarino, A., & Najman, J. M. (2018). Child maltreatment and mental health problems in adulthood: birth cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 213(6), 698-703
Wheeler, K. (2013). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice. Springer Publishing Company
