Screening Tool for Depression and Anxiety

Depression and anxiety form the most common mental disorders that commonly affect women more than men on a global scale (Albert, 2015). Detection of the symptoms associated with the development of stress and depression in individuals is considered extremely difficult. This is because depression or stress are mental disorders that do not exhibit any external symptoms and slowly disturb the mental equilibrium (Grigoriadis et al., 2013). Anxiety and depression have been reported to affect women twice as much as men (Western,2013). This case study analysis would deal with the analysis of the symptoms exhibited by the patient KB and proceed with designing an effective intervention to help the patient deal with the problem and get relief.

On closely analysing the case study, it can be said that the chosen screening tool to access the level of depression and anxiety symptoms in the patient can be the Mental State Evaluation tool. The mental state examination evidently screens the mental status of the patient based on the symptoms that reflect the presence of anxiety or depression in the individuals. From the details furnished by the case study, it can be said that the patient has been experiencing constant fatigue and felt emotionally down for a long period of time. The major symptoms can be connected to the two vital components of the mental state evaluation namely ‘mood and affect’ and ‘cognition’ (Berking et al., 2013).

The case study reveals that the client has reported to feel extremely sad and experience a feeling related to the ‘lack of joy. The client has also reported to feel emotionally drained on attending social events that have a lot of couples around. The fact that the client lost her husband two years ago in a car accident and has often disturbing memories of her husband in the car makes her feel all the more depressed and emotional. These factors can be associated with the ‘mood and affect’ component of the mental state evaluation tool. In addition to the factors mentioned above, it should further be stated that the client has reported to feel drained of any energy and constant feeling of fatigue. The client has also reported to feel devoid of any positive energy to work and has reported her inability to be able to focus on her work related projects. Moreover, the client has also reported a reluctant behaviour in taking meals. These elements can be tightly linked to the component of cognition. Therefore, it can be said that the client has been experiencing the above sated symptoms for a time period of more than 6 months. On examining the symptoms with the DSM-V manual it can be concluded that the client is prone to develop general anxiety and depressive disorders.

Analysis of Symptoms using Mental State Evaluation Tool

The further steps that would be taken in order to evaluate the condition of the patient would involve correlating the symptoms with the DSM-V manual and efficiently detect the probability of disorders (Psychiatry.org, 2018). It can be stated that the client is probable to develop disorders such as anxiety disorders that could include panic attacks and social anxiety disorder. Further, the client is also prone to develop sleep-wake disorder and disorders related to eating and feeding on account of disruptive eating and sleeping habits (APA, 2013). Moreover, the client could also develop intellectual disorder pertaining to the fact that the client feels depressed and is haunted by the memories of her dead husband. The case study states that the client is under the medication of Excedrin PM which falls under the category of mild sedative that is supposed to restore peaceful sleep to the client. However, the client has still reported to feel deprived of proper rest. I would proceed with prescribing Valium tablets to the client which is expected to effectively treat the problem of anxiety and ensure a peaceful sleep (APA,2013). Further interventions would include, educating and making the client aware about her mental health condition and the MSE score. Scientific evidences have revealed that administering cognitive behavioural therapy has been found to be effective in treating depression. Administration of music therapy has also been reported to be effective (Fachner et al., 2013). Hence, the intervention devised by me would include a counselling session followed by administering music therapy to the client to provide relief (Fachner et al., 2013). At the same time, the administration of cognitive therapy is expected to improve the cognitive skills of the client and restore energy. It can be expected that the patient would start feeling better within 2 months on following the devised intervention.

Conclusion:

Hence, it can be said that it is important to actively identify the symptoms of depression and anxiety at the earliest. Following the assessment it is pivotal to undertake steps in order to help the affected individual get over the problem and effectively live a healthy life.

References:

Albert, P. R. (2015). Why is depression more prevalent in women?. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience: JPN, 40(4), 219.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.

Berking, M., Ebert, D., Cuijpers, P., & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Emotion regulation skills training enhances the efficacy of inpatient cognitive behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 82(4), 234-245.

Fachner, J., Gold, C., & Erkkilä, J. (2013). Music therapy modulates fronto-temporal activity in rest-EEG in depressed clients. Brain topography, 26(2), 338-354.

Grigoriadis, S., Mamisashvili, L., & Ross, L. E. (2013). Focus on Women’s Mental Health. J Clin Psychiatry, 74(4), e293-e308.

Psychiatry.org. (2018). Online Assessment Measures. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/educational-resources/assessment-measures#Disorder

Western, D. (2013). Depression in women. In Gender-based Violence and Depression in Women (pp. 33-44). Springer, New York, NY.