The document discusses the process of a mental health assessment conducted by professionals like doctors and psychologists. The assessment aims to identify if a person has a mental health problem and what type of treatment could help. It involves taking a comprehensive personal, medical, social, and family history to understand vulnerabilities. The assessment thoroughly examines psychiatric symptoms, functional abilities, and protective/risk factors to determine the focus of intervention. Key parts of the psychiatric nursing assessment interview include exploring the patient's history, mental condition, physical condition, and family history.

1. MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT
Process whereby a professional e.g. Doctor,
Psychologist, Psychiatric checks to see if one has
a mental problem and the type of treatment to
help him/her.
The assessment is mainly focused on identifying
the presence of specific symptoms clusters, for
the dual purposes of psychiatric multiracial
diagnosis and treatment.

2. Implications for psychiatric nursing
assessment
• A full personal, medical, social and family history to
identify basic vulnerabilities
• History of patient`s psychiatric problem , its pattern
and stressors before the onset or worsening of
symptoms
• Thorough assessment of one`s functional abilities will
determine the impact of the psychiatric symptoms on
their lifestyle activities

3. Cont..
• Thorough assessment of the presence and action of
the personal and environmental protective factors
being practiced in the person`s life is necessary to
determine the focus of the intervention.

4. Constituencies of Psychiatric nursing
assessment interview
1. Patient`s history
• Biological and social functioning
• Previous psychiatric treatment
• Premorbid personality(preceding onset of symptoms)
• Stress factors

5. 2. Patients mental condition
• Patient`s present psychological functioning
Explore symptoms and problems in terms of:
Frequency
Duration
Context / type of situation
Content
Feelings
Behaviour

6. 3. Patient`s physical condition
• Physical well being of patient

7. a) Biographic data
• Name
• Gender
• Marital status
• Date of birth

8. b) Chief complaints
• Describe the main complaint in your own words
• Listen to HOW the patient presents the problem
• Listen to WHAT the patient says about the problem
NB: The nurse’s knowledge and what the patient says
may not correspond
If information was not given by patient, record from
whom it was obtained

9. c) History of present illness
• Give history in chronological order of development
• Course of symptoms/ behaviour
• Describe the symptom
• State whether change occurred suddenly or gradually
• Name the precipitating stress factor at the
commencement of the illness
• Determine any relationship between physical and
psychological symptoms

10. Cont..
• Onset ,severity, and frequency of symptoms
• Any secondary gain from illness
• How symptoms influence social functioning e.g.
school, work, church
• Patient`s sources of support and present strong
points.

11. d) Previous illness
• Emotional and mental disorders:
Symptomatology (study of symptoms)
Type of treatment
Name of hospital
Duration of illness
Effect of treatment
Patient compliance

12. Psychosomatic disorder:
• Hay fever
• Asthma
• Hyperthyroidism
• Skin disorders

13. Medical disorder:
• Ask about general medical condition

14. Neurological disorder
• Craniocerebral trauma
• Convulsions
• Tumours

15. e) Personal history
•Information provides insight onto the origin and
course of the psychiatric disturbance
•To obtain precise picture and historical perspective of
the patient`s developmental process.
•Helps understand nature of symptoms and their
meaning to the patient
•Helps identify factors that made the person vulnerable
to developing the psychiatric condition

16. Cont..
• The more vulnerability factors present, the greater the
likelihood of becoming ill in terms of stress,
particularly if they cannot cope with the stress.

17. Vulnerability factors
• Biological factors
Normal children born from mentally ill parents, later
become ill

18. • Genetic factors
• Hereditary factors play a role in mental illness,
however, not everyone with family history of mental
health becomes ill.

19. • Early psychosocial factors
• Persistent negative early childhood experiences may
result in the development of a poor self concept or
esteem, which is not strong enough to cope with the
stresses of life

20. f) Prenatal history ( developmental history)
Pregnancy and birth:
Abnormalities during birth
Birth injuries
Planned or unplanned infant
Early childhood (0-3 years):
Feeding habit; bottle fed, breast fed or feeding
problems

21. g) Early development
When were developmental milestones reached?
Note any indication of: unfulfilled needs, separation
anxiety and maternal deviation
Toilet training
Symptoms of behavioural problems; thumb sucking,
tantrums, head-bashing, nightmares, bed-wetting
Personality as child; shy, restless, withdrawn, nagging,
friendly
Early or recurrent dreams or fantasy

22. h) Adulthood
• Occupational history
• Social relationships and activities
• Adult sexuality
• Premarital relationships
• Marital history: roles played by spouse, family
planning
• Attitude to pregnancy and attempt, number of
children and age
• National service

23. i) Family history
• Information about family customs, child rearing
methods, present support system
• Composition of the family
• Physical and emotional health
• Genetic hereditary patterns in the family
• Economic circumstances
• Occupation of parents
• Relationships in the family
• Parents` personalities