The Holistic Assessment Process Based on the Goal of Facilitating Essay

The Holistic Assessment Process Based on the Goal of Facilitating Recovery - Essay Example This paper shall first present an overview of the clinical presentation of the service user. Secondly, it will identify the needs of the service user required to achieve recovery. Lastly, it shall present a critique of my involvement in the assessment process and how this reflected the principles of recovery. Body Overview Mrs. Smith is 46 years old, and was admitted to the mental health unit after she accused her son of apparently spying on her. She also attempted to slash her wrists claiming that there were some implants there placed by government agents spying on her. She is married and has been for the past 20 years and has been a math teacher at a local community college for the past 10 years and before that, has worked as an analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). She has three children, all grown and she is living with her husband and one of her children. She has an IQ of a genius and has had no known history of any mental illness. For the past ten years howeve r, she expressed that sometimes she has often felt depressed, but did not seek professional mental health. Her husband declares that he also noticed his wife being paranoid about other people spying on them. He also shared that he thinks his wife is sometimes speaking to someone that he could not see, and that when he asked her who she was talking to, she said she was talking to her friend. She also believes that she is secretly working for the FBI and is sending and interpreting coded messages for them. She also believes that as a result of her work with the FBI, Russian spies want to kill her and so she is suspicious of every mail man or stranger that knocks on their door. As a result of her delusions, she was asked to take a sabbatical leave of absence from her work and to seek mental help. She is however in major denial over her mental health, insisting that what she sees and what she believes are all real. Two weeks prior to her current admission, after her husband left for wor k, she locked herself in the house and refused to open it to anyone. She drew the curtains and turned off all the lights. She then went to the bathroom and locked herself, taking with her a baseball bat to serve as a ‘weapon’ to ward off any supposed attackers. Her son came over to check on her and when he could not get in the door, used his key to get in the house. When his mother was not answering his calls, he then checked every room and found the bathroom door locked. He also heard his mother telling him to go away and leave her alone. Worried that his mother is hurt, he kicked the bathroom door open and as soon as he did, his mother started hitting him with the baseball bat. After subduing his mother, he called the emergency services for assistance. She was later referred to the mental health unit after the health professionals considered a possible mental health affectation. Assessment of needs In assessing the patient’s needs, I evaluated her ability to ca rry out her daily activities, mostly in relation to self-care (functional needs) (Velligan, et.al., 2004). I also evaluated her family situation, especially in relation to potential family caregivers who can supervise her care and assist her in her daily activities and support her during her recovery period. I also assessed her psychological health and emotional health, interviewing her and her family while asking pertinent questions relating to her feelings and her ability to cope with stress (Popescu and