Wisdom On Mental Health Assessment From An Older Five-Year-Old
Mental Health Assessment – What Happens If You Are Unhappy With Your Mental Health Assessment? If you have a mental health problem it is essential to seek out help. Mental illness is as serious as physical disease. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. APP recognizes the need to combat discrimination. What is a mental health assessment? A mental health assessment is an examination that aims to assess how someone is functioning psychologically, socially, and in terms of development. It also helps diagnose conditions like depression or neurological diseases like dementia. A healthcare professional will talk to the patient and assess their physical condition during an initial assessment. They may inquire about the patient's symptoms as well as what's happening. They will also test the person's ability to think, reason and remember (cognitive function). During an assessment various tests can be conducted. They could be formal, standardized tests or informal, non-standardized tests. They could include a list of issues, a memory check or self-report screening tool like the GHQ or MMSE. These tools may be administered by general practitioners or by mental health professionals. Sometimes, laboratory tests are required to diagnose a disorder. These tests could include blood or urine samples. Most often these tests aren't painful. The only discomfort may be the injection of the blood sample, which may be a little painful or sting. In more serious instances, an MRI or EEG scan could be required. It is crucial for healthcare professionals to have the most complete picture possible when they carry out an assessment. This involves taking into consideration the history of the patient's family, lifestyle, and the environment they reside in. This information will be considered when deciding on the best course of treatment for the patient. What should happen during an assessment at a mental health facility? The assessment will let health professionals to listen and comprehend your situation. It is advisable to use this opportunity to discuss your concerns and ask any questions you may have. It is also important to be provided with enough information on the various options, allowing you to make an informed choice. It is important to be greeted in a warm, friendly and understanding manner by staff upon your arrival (NICE, 2009b). A comfortable waiting area should be provided to those who prefer to wait on their own or with others. In the course of your mental health assessment the doctor will ask you questions about your thoughts and emotions and how they affect your daily routine, and if you have tried to manage symptoms by yourself. Your doctor will also observe how you act. For example, they may look at how you speak and if you make eye contact. They can also test your memory and ability to reason by asking you simple questions, like recalling short lists or naming common objects and shapes. If you are a victim of section 2 of Mental Health Act, the AMHP will help and guide you throughout the assessment. You can bring a friend or a relative along to the appointment or opt to use an advocate, who can represent your interests and opinions. They can be professionals like lawyers or charity workers. Some people find it hard to discuss their emotional health with healthcare professionals, particularly in the event of negative experiences in the past. Children may not realize that changes in their moods or behaviour could be cause for concern. Others families might not know where to go for help. It is essential that all healthcare professionals are aware of the consequences of previous poor experiences and work hard to build a trusting relationship. What should I do if I am unhappy with the assessment? If you have been assessed under the Mental Health Act and you are not satisfied with the results you may make an appeal to the CQC. Learn more about how to make complaints for more details. It can be difficult for those who are dependent on mental healthcare services to keep track of all their appointments. It is important to be as honest and transparent as possible with the person who is assessing you. If you don't then the professional could have a different view of what you're doing and this can affect the care you receive. Mental illness can affect your mood and mental thinking. It can affect your work, relationships and day-to-day activities. The most common disorders are anxiety disorders, depression and schizophrenia. You can seek help for mental illness from your GP as well as your family and friends or by visiting the nearest NHS CAMHS. The key to improving mental health is to get the right diagnosis and treatment. NHS England works hard to make sure everyone receives the appropriate treatment at the right time. This includes reducing delays and making sure that the correct information is accessible to everyone who requires it. To help with this, we are changing the way that we store and share information. We would like to see all local mental healthcare services able to keep and share information similar to other NHS organisations. This will enhance safety and quality of treatment. We want all healthcare providers to have access to accurate and current data in real-time, wherever they are. This is part of the NHS's commitment to Data Saves Lives, which seeks to eliminate the barriers to a more efficient sharing of data across the health and social care system. What do I do if require a second opinion on something? If you feel that the health professionals who participated in your assessment aren't taking your concerns seriously, there are things you can do. You could ask the manager of your mental health services to have a different doctor review the case with you, or you could call one of the NHS helplines to get assistance in your region. If you reside in England the NHS provides a service known as EIT that will send an emergency response team to your home. You can also contact local voluntary groups, or charities such as Mind or Rethink for advice. It is possible to seek another opinion, whether by a medical professional or a different doctor. Your GP is also able to offer an alternative opinion. This is a good option in case you are uncertain about your diagnosis or treatment options or if there's a disagreement between the doctors on the best option for you. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine found second opinions to be of great value and costing only a fraction of what the first opinion would have cost. The experts can provide new perspectives and insights that could change the course of the patient's treatment. A second opinion is necessary when your healthcare professional has not identified a cause for your symptoms. This can be due to various reasons, including misdiagnosis and simply not paying attention attentively to your story. At Dementech We can organize a private mental health assessment for you with our psychiatrists. We provide standard consultations of 50 minutes, and we partner with a variety of major private insurance companies to ensure that your mental health treatment is covered. However, if you do not have insurance, we are still capable of providing excellent and affordable care. What should I do if require a second opinion from a specialist? You should be able to arrange an appointment for a second opinion if are dissatisfied with your mental health assessment results. There is no legal right to it however, doctors will often refuse to make it happen for you. You can request your GP or the mental health services to help make this happen. They should be able give you the details of local advocacy services. The doctor will look at and possibly perform further tests such as blood tests and an X-ray. They will inform you about their findings and discuss the options for treatment. This could include medication, hospitalization or other options. When talking to you the doctor, he should consider your gender, age, gender and social background, as in addition to your sexual orientation or disability, religion, cultural or religious beliefs, and your sexual orientation. A second opinion can be beneficial because it lets you compare medical advice from different experts and to gain an unbiased view of your medical situation. It will make you feel more comfortable about your treatment options and diagnosis and can also give you more information about the possible side consequences of each option. There may be a compelling reason to seek a second opinion. You may be worried that you suffer from an unusual or rare disease and would like to get an opinion from a specialist on the diagnosis and treatment options. You might have read about treatments your doctor does not provide and you would like to know if they are suitable for you. A private Psychiatrist will usually see you within a couple of days and have access to your complete health record. They can also arrange for an online video consultation through Skype or Facetime and a medical report to be directly sent to your GP.