Post- tania

 Respond to your colleague by providing at least two ways that their strategies may be expanded or improved.  

NOTE: Positive comment

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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