2 replies APA 250 words each must ***use a biblical reference as was as ***one scholarly reference. ***You must use student 1 and student 2, so I know whom reply is for which student.**
****Student 1****
What are the components of a Mental Status Examination and what is its purpose?
Components vary somewhat depending on the author, however, most detailed MSEs include information about appearance, motor activity, speech, affect, thought content, thought process, perception, intellect, and insight. Its purpose is to evaluate, quantitatively and qualitatively, a range of mental functions and behaviors at a specific point in time.
What are the interventions for various risk levels of a suicidal client? Should all “gestures” be taken seriously?
All gestures should be taken seriously- a false negative is more dangerous than a false positive in suicide assessment. A comprehensive approach to managing suicidality includes the following 3 stages; Stabilization and safety of the client in acute state; Assessment of temporal and distal risk factors; and ongoing management and active problem-solving of contributing factors. An excellent resource for anyone working with a suicide -risk client can be found at: file:///C:/Users/ssatu/Downloads/MHA_WorkingWithSuicidalClient.pdf
Give an example of complicated grief and disenfranchised grief. How can crisis workers help with each?
Many signs and symptoms of normal grief are the same as those of complicated grief. However, while normal grief symptoms gradually start to fade over time, those of complicated grief linger or get worse. Complicated grief is like being in an ongoing, heightened state of mourning that keeps you from healing. An example of complicated grief would be the death of a child by the hands of the child’s mother’s best friend. The death is complicated by the loss of two close relationships, a criminal trial, court system, PTSD, co-parenting, and the fact that the mother of the child is recently divorced and struggles with alcohol addiction. Disenfranchised grief is when your grieving doesn’t fit in with your larger society’s attitude about dealing with death and loss. The lack of support you get during your grieving process can prolong emotional pain. An example of disenfranchised grief is grieving the loss of a secret intimate partner. Crisis workers can help with each by first understand types of grief, helping the client understand their grief , being empathetic, actively listening, and setting a treatment plan at the pace of the client. Complicated Grief Therapy is a proven, evidence-based therapeutic approach for these clients (Iglewicz et al, 2020).
What are the five fundamental needs of bereaved persons? Do you agree with this assessment? If not, what would you add or replace?
The five fundamental needs of bereaved persons are social support, nutrition, hydration, exercise
rest (Corr et al, 2019). I would add spiritual or self-help support. Research has shown that healthy spiritual or religious individuals heal more completely and in shorter time frames that those without a high power. Scripture has long been a tool for healing the bereaved Christian.
References
Corr, C.A., Corr, D.M. & Doka, K.J. (2019). Death & Dying, Life & Living (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781337563895.
Iglewicz, A., Shear, M. K., Reynolds III, C. F., Simon, N., Lebowitz, B., & Zisook, S. (2020). Complicated grief therapy for clinicians: An evidence‐based protocol for mental health practice. Depression and anxiety, 37(1), 90-98.
*****Student 2 ****
The Mental Status Examination is a part of the initial assessment process before a client receives treatment. It is designed to provide the therapist with signs that indicate the functional nature of the person’s psychiatric condition (Jungers & Scott, 2019). The MSE allows the therapist to understand the client’s mental capabilities and hinderances. There are different versions of the MSE but all contain the same key components. These components include, appearance and behavior, attention and alertness, affect and mood, perception and thought process, orientation (person, place, time), judgment, attention and concentration, recent and long-term memory, abstract ability and insight.
All claims of suicide should be taken seriously and handled as if the likelihood is that the client will actually go through with it. For low-risk clients, a useful intervention is having a discussion directly with the client and using an empowering statement. It is also a good idea to recommend individual therapy. Middle-risk suicide clients are the most common. Besides a no-suicide contract and suicide watch, the counselor often asks the client to bring in items that the client has planned to use for completing suicide and give them to the counselor (Kanel, 2018). For high-risk clients, it is imperative to act as quickly as possible and involve the local police if necessary as well as the local psychiatric facility. The crisis worker should offer voluntary admittance, but involuntary admittance is sometimes needed.
Complicated grief refers to grief reactions or mourning processes that are not only unusual but also abnormal in the sense of being deviant and unhealthy (Corr et al., 2019). An example of complicated grief is the loss of a spouse or significant other, and the individual succumbing to a state of depression and not being able to keep up with their personal hygiene and refusing to eat. Disenfranchised grief is when a person experiences a loss that cannot be openly acknowledged or publicly supported. This could be when someone loses their partner in a same-sex relationship and the family is not aware of the individual’s orientation.
There are five fundamental needs of a bereaved person including social support, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and rest. I do agree that these are all important areas that should be maintained normally, but I do not think it is a good idea to force the bereaved person to partake in anything they are not ready for. The bereaved person may not want to rest and feel that they have a lot to take care of. We can offer emotional support, prepare a meal, and provide childcare if needed, with the goal of alleviating any undue stress.
References:
Corr, C.A., Corr, D.M. & Doka, K.J. (2019). Death & Dying, Life & Living (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Jungers, C. M., & Scott, J. (2019). Practicum and internship: Textbook and resource guide for counseling and psychotherapy. New York, NY: Routledge.
Kanel, K. (2018). A Guide to Crisis Intervention (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
