Screening for Forensic Mental Health Symptoms (Victim Client)-Nursing Essay Samples

Hypothetical Score Results (Screening for Forensic Mental Health)

Mental Health Screening Form-III (MHSF-III) is an assessment tool for evaluating mental health problems in patients with substance abuse problems to determine their eligibility for admission into rehabilitation programs (Alonzo, 2020). I used the tool to assess the mental health of a friend, K.M., who remain scheduled for court-ordered treatment. The assessment results indicate a ‘yes’ response for questions 3 to 17, underscoring the need for expert mental health practitioner assessment and recommendations to determine the potential need for patient follow-up. Notably, the assessment considers the patient’s background, substance use, and mental health during the evaluation (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

Based on the patient’s background, the scores indicate that KM has a history of anxiety and depression associated with severe mental health deterioration. KM has been using antidepressant medications for the past two years without achieving positive health outcomes related to depression or hallucinations. The patient previously remained hospitalized for depression and difficulty sleeping due to persistent nightmares and hallucinations, always claiming that someone was chasing him with a machete (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

KM experienced adverse childhood experiences, being raised by an alcoholic father who would always abuse his mother, including sending them away from home during the night. He carried physical marks on the back of his hand, which he says were inflicted by his father on one of the horrible evenings in preschool. Additionally, KM fears public places, especially social events where potential altercations could occur. He dislikes such events due to his impulsive personality. He remained suspended from school after fighting a classmate over dirt on a desk (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

KM also engaged in substance abuse to relieve stress after suspension from school. Consequently, He involved himself with friends who introduced him to alcohol, taking after his father’s alcoholism. The family’s alcoholism remains attributed to a neighbor they accuse of disliking KM’s family’s progress. So, KM justified his drinking habits and violent behavior when drunk by accusing the neighbor of the predicament, exacerbating the depression problem for weeks before enrolment into antidepressant treatment (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

Persistent depression results in weight gain, attracting body shaming from friends (Eichler et al., 2019). Moreover, KM struggled with weight loss, engaging in rigorous physical activity to reduce weight and prevent body shaming, often resulting in altercations. Lastly, the results indicated that KM has a problem with adhering to antidepressant medications. It has been two years since the patient started taking the medications, with no positive outcomes.

However, the non-adherence remain probably attributed to KM’s failure to take the antidepressants as directed by physicians, skipping the drugs due to fear of addiction. Consequently, Olelewe (2020) identifies fear of addiction, side effects of the medications, and lack of adequate patient education and follow-up as the primary contributors to antidepressant non-adherence among patients (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

Recommendations

Based on the assessment scores, KM should be assessed for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), associated with violent behavior during intoxication. McHugh and Weiss (2019) argue that AUD results in violent behaviors, depression, and anxiety, which affects an individual’s ability to associate with other people, especially at parties where alcohol is available. Furthermore, Identification of the disorder can be achieved through the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) (Kuteesa et al., 2020) (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

AUDIT consists of 10 questions for determining excessive alcohol consumption and its effect on an individual’s health. Additionally, the patient should be assessed for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Kalmakis et al. (2020) explain that people experiencing PTSD are always alert, experience unrest in public places, and are most likely impulsive due to the persistent perception of danger in their environment. Moreover, KM experienced adverse childhood experiences. More so, it could be associated with nightmares and high levels of impulsivity (Screening for Forensic Mental Health).

References

Alonzo, L. E. (2020). The Relationship Between Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Violent Crime in a Jail Sample. University of Louisiana at Lafayette. https://www.proquest.com/openview/3bbc5a616e766dec8f2b75bafe196c0b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Eichler, J., Schmidt, R., Hiemisch, A., Kiess, W., & Hilbert, A. (2019). Gestational weight gain, physical activity, sleep problems, substance use, and food intake as proximal risk factors of stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2328-1

Kalmakis, K. A., Chiodo, L. M., Kent, N., & Meyer, J. S. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and self-reported stress among traditional and nontraditional college students. Journal of American College Health, 68(4), 411-418.https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1577860

Kuteesa, M. O., Cook, S., Weiss, H. A., Kamali, A., Weinmann, W., Seeley, J., … & Webb, E. L. (2019). Comparing Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) with Timeline Follow Back (TLFB), DSM-5 and Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) for the assessment of alcohol misuse among young people in Ugandan fishing communities. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 10, 100233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100233

McHugh, R. K., & Weiss, R. D. (2019). Alcohol use disorder and depressive disorders. Alcohol research: current reviews, 40(1). https://arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/volume/40/1/alcohol-use-disorder-and-depressive-disorders

Olelewe, O. (2020). Improving Depression Symptoms and Antidepressant Medication Adherence Using Encrypted Short Message Service (SMS) Text Message Reminders (Doctoral dissertation, Brandman University). https://www.proquest.com/openview/7a3bc312c1e207a30765b97d29c1fc82/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y