Mental Health Issues In Physical Therapy

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

“The overall goal for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project is to meet the challenge of preparing future nurses who will have the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems within which they work”("Graduate KSAs," 2014 para.1) In looking through the competencies that this statement embodies, I have chosen the competency of safety. This competency is defined as minimizing the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance (2014). The topic I have chosen to discuss in regards to safety is the role that the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) plays in the recognition and the treatment of teen suicide. According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey (2013) suicide among teens and adolescents is a major health problem. It is the 3rd leading cause of death in 10-24 year olds in the United States. In the survey, 17% of students reported seriously considering suicide in the 12 months prior to the survey (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). With these reported numbers in the pediatric population, it is of vital importance that the PNP as the primary care provider (PCP) knows how to appropriately screen for, refer and treat this patient. This paper discusses the suicidal teen and the role of the PNP to promote the

This article attempts to establish that it is imperative for all school nurses to be properly trained in mental health issues. Ensuring they have the confidence needed to recognize the early signs of mental issues so they may support and intervene in a cohesive manner. The reason this article is important to mental health nursing is that it relates to many newly graduated registered nurses, who may feel inadequate in assessing mental health illnesses and how to handle each individual case. These issues must be addressed in order to eliminate unwanted self-harming individuals.

In 2014, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015), there were twice as many suicides than there were homicides. Suicidal ideation (SI), defined as an individual thinking about, considering, or planning their suicide, is established before the act of committing suicide. Research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (CDC, 2015) will put an individual at risk for developing a mental illness that could result in SI and suicide attempt (SA). It is important for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) to recognize the signs of SI and SA while assessing their client.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people age 15 to 34 years of age (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2015). More than 25% of all high school age adolescents in the United States who took part in a youth risk behavior survey felt symptoms of depression almost every day for two or more consecutive weeks (CDC, 2012). Adolescents who are depressed are at higher risk for suicide. Early recognition and treatment is crucial to preventing suicide attempts (King & Vidourek, 2012). Screening for adolescent depression is an important step in implementing the Institute of Medicine (2001) recommendation for improving safety in health care. In addition, the care provided must be patient centered and equitable. This quality improvement project aims to provide screening for adolescent depression for all patients age 12 years and older during routine well-child visits.

Working at the Elmcrest Children’s Center this semester has opened my eyes to so many different issues that children face in our own community. The children that are sent to Elmcrest go through psycho-social evaluations before they are fully admitted to see exactly how the child reacts to certain situations and stimuli. During my time at Elmcrest, there have been kids that have been discharged to other programs due to the fact that they had dealt with suicidal thoughts and needed more intensive care than Elmcrest was able to provide. When I saw the article, “Physical and Psycho-Social Predictors of Adolescents’ Suicide Behavior” I knew that it would be extremely beneficial for me to learn more about what triggers these behaviors and how they

Have you ever wondered why states spend roughly one billion dollars a year on children (20 and under) who are attempting suicide or have attempted suicide (Nami, 2010)? That is due to the thousands of children who live their daily lives with an undiagnosed mental disorder. What is children’s mental health? Children’s mental health is defined as growing emotionally while developing healthful social skills and learning how to deal with problems (CDC, 2013). Some mental disorders found in children include: mood and anxiety disorders, behavior disorders, Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, is the most common disorder of children

I have been through countless obstacles that aided in the forming of my character, however there was a more recent bump in the road that truly made me the person I am today.

Challenges to adherence with treatment programs do not stop once physical therapy has ended. Continuing home exercise programs once a patient has terminated therapy is one the greatest struggles physical therapists face in creating successful outcomes for patients. Forkan et. al. (2014) found that of the 90% of patients who received a home exercise program following post-treatment, 37% did not participant in the prescribed program. Interestingly, time following discharge did not affect this rate of adherence, meaning that patients discharged within 12 months of physical therapy adhered to the home exercise programs at the same rate as those within 48 months. Common reported barriers to complying with the physical therapy program included change

Before the age of eighteen nearly a fourth of all young persons will deal with mental illness (Shirk and Jungbluth 217). Only around a third of these children will receive professional treatment (United States Public Health Service qtd. in Shirk and Jungbluth 222). Because of the risk of suicide in mentally ill young people, it is crucial that mental health services are readily available to our youth in school settings. Therefore, schools should administer mandatory mental health screenings because mental illness often affects academic performance, and the majority of young persons that commit suicide have a treatable illness.

Thank you for your post. Physical therapy plays a role in maintaining a good mental health, and there is no doubt that providing physical therapy treatment sessions positively impacts patients with mental illness. Maintaining a good emotional and mental health is an essential part of our practice, especially for patients who reside in health care facilities for a long-term care (LTC). Those LTC patients may demonstrate a relatively high risk for psychological distress and/or other anxiety symptoms that are more prevalent than depression. Kaur, Masaun and Bhatia (2013) discussed this issue and concluded that physical exercises and activities have shown to have a positive effect in decreasing the levels of anxiety and depression among patients

There is an ethical duty to report a client of any age when there are reports of suicidal attempts or ideation. Confidentiality is a consideration, but the safety of Angela is the first priority. There is a legal and ethical duty to report if there is a foreseeable harm (Remley, T. P., & Herlihy, B., 2010). A counselor must be knowledgeable of the proper assessments and tools, and should consult other

So how can the physician determine when a patient should be diagnosed as depressed or suicidal? Brown (1996) suggested the best way to diagnose is to "screen out the vulnerable groups of children and adolescents for the risk factors of suicide and then refer them for treatment." Some of these "risk factors" include verbal signs of suicide within the last three months, prior attempts at suicide, indication of severe mood problems, or excessive alcohol and substance abuse.

People used to believe that children had no reason to be depressed it wasn’t till a few years ago: “No one thought that children could suffer from real depression; there wasn’t even an official diagnosis for childhood depression until 1980” (Fassler 4). But really who would have thought that such a thing could be possible. Sadly today we know that it’s a real disease and it affects more adolescents than we think: “ The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 2.5 percent of all American youngsters under the age of eighteen or over 1.5 million children and adolescents are seriously depressed” (Fassler 2).

The DSM states “having five or more symptoms present during the same two week period and represent a change from precious functioning at least one of the symptoms is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure” (American Psychiatric Association:, 2013). Some other “behavioral patterns are running away from home, accident-proneness; aggressive acting out; temper tantrums; self-criticism; social withdrawal and loneliness; extreme sensitivity to criticism by others; low tolerance of frustration’ sleep problems; dark fantasies, daydreams or hallucinations; marked personality change; and overwhelming interest in death and suicide.” (Comer, 2014) This is why depression and suicidal behavior is harder to recognize and are not treated. “Depression can be difficult to diagnose in teens because adults may expect teens to act moody. In addition, adolescents do not always understand or express their feelings very well. They may not be aware of the symptoms of depression and may not seek help” ("DEPRESSION IN TEENS"). Therefore, when a teen is suffering from depression and feeling suicidal it is important to help them seek help by just asking them if they are feeling suicidal and then help them take the appropriate steps to find and receive help. “About 5 percent of children and adolescents in the general population suffer from depression at any given point in time” (Shaffer,