Adult Nursing HLSU195
Neuman’s assessment model provides a framework for identifying potential stressors in the mental health consumer’s environment and developing measures to better deal with or prevent the stressors from restoring the individual’s equilibrium. To complete the reflective activity, the Driscoll reflective model asks three essential questions: “What?” “So what?” and “Now what?” Nurses have widely used this reflective model to improve their decision-making abilities (Ashoorian & Davidson, 2021). This essay aims to critically reflect on the author’s person-centred mental health assessment of a mental health consumer using the Driscoll reflective model (Snowdon, 2018). (Esterhuizen, 2019). The author intends to reflect on using Neuman’s assessment model as an intervention to comprehend Gary’s case (Lawson, 2021). Furthermore, the essay reflects on the author’s clinical decision-making ability to manage complex cases in mental health nursing settings.
The person-centred assessment was centred on Gary, with Neuman’s assessment model’s pre-defined questions tailored to the consumer’s circumstances (Symonds et al., 2020). Gary is a 20-year-old male consumer who is out of work. During his adolescence, he became estranged from his mother, had few friends, and was involved in drug use with local young males. Gradually, his behaviour became erratic and bizarre, followed by a fire-setting incident, which Gary claimed was done on the command of a voice as part of a bombing campaign to signal his other brothers. Under the Mental Health Act, he had been admitted to the CAMHS mental health unit (1983, Section 2). He was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis and given Olanzapine (Citrome et al., 2019). Since his release at the age of thirteen, he has remained a threat to his sister and has begun inflicting cuts on his arms and legs on himself. Following an assessment, the author discovered numerous stressors in his environment, making him vulnerable to another psychotic episode. Lack of contact with one’s family members (intermittent contact with Nan, no contact with mother) (Aggarwal & Patton, 2018), living in temporary accommodation, unemployment, absence of a father, inability to accept his mother’s relationship with her current partner, and a lack of adequate social support are among the stressors identified. It is assumed that he inflicts self-injury to cope with the stressors above (Lockwood et al., 2017). Gary has a good relationship with his youth worker, his Nan, a supportive friend named Tor, and the help of the community mental health team.
