Case Study, Mohr
CHAPTER 1, Introduction to Psychiatric–Mental Health Nursing In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objectives: Explain elements that contribute to mental health.
Review trends, problems, and goals related to the delivery of mental health care and treatment of mental illness.
1. Karen is a 25-year-old white woman who lives alone in an apartment with her dog. Karen has been divorced for 2 years and is taking Prozac prescribed by her psychiatrist for depression. Karen and her boyfriend had been discussing marriage until he told her that he wanted to end their relationship. Karen became even more depressed and could not work for a week. Karen returned to work, refusing to discuss her issues with family, friends, or coworkers. She did, however, make an appointment to see a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Karen told the nurse that she was making some changes in her life. Karen said that she and a girlfriend were joining a gym program for workouts and a social group for young men and women. Karen stated that she realizes that her former boyfriend had not been committed to her, and she anticipates meeting and dating other young men from the adult social group. Karen also said that she thinks that the gym exercise will be beneficial to her mentally and physically.
Learning Objectives: 1, 4)
• How will the psychiatric nurse assess if Karen has made progress toward self-realization?
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• Identify strengths that Karen has for progress in personal growth.
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Karen has been seeking treatment for her depression. Analyze the factors that might contribute to Karen’s reluctance to discuss her depression with others.
Case Study, Mohr: CHAPTER 2, Neuroscience: Biology and Behavior
In completing the case study, students will be addressing the following learning objectives:
Discuss neuroplasticity and how this concept relates to mental health and mental illness.
Briefly explain the importance of interaction between genes and environment, the role of endophenotypes, and the stress-diathesis model of psychiatric illness.
1. Michael is a 22-year-old college senior whose GPA has declined with this semester’s grades. Michael plans to apply to medical school and thinks that the lower GPA may prevent his acceptance to medical school. For the last 2 weeks, Michael has skipped most classes because he has insomnia and fatigue. Michael is now very depressed and has been thinking of suicide. He took a loaded gun from his father’s gun cabinet and then wrote a suicide note to his family. At the last moment, he telephoned 911 and told them of his suicide plan. The police came, took the gun away, and then took Michael to the city hospital to be admitted for psychiatric treatment. In the admission interview with the psychiatric nurse, Michael said that his pastor thought that only weak-willed people experienced depression and that it was a punishment for personal sins and the sins of one’s ancestors. Michael told the nurse that he must be weak-willed and will never be able to accomplish anything. The psychiatric nurse explained that multiple factors are the cause of depression. The nurse told Michael that one theory holds that an imbalance of neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers of the brain, occurs in depression. Neurotransmitters influence the individual’s emotions, thoughts, and subsequent behavior. Recent research implies that neurobiology, heredity, as well as Psychological and environmental factors may be involved in the development and progression of depression.
(Learning Objectives: 5, 6)
a. Will Michael think that the psychiatric nurse’s explanation for the cause of depression is more correct than that of his pastor?
b. Michael asks the nurse why he has to have psychotherapy. He states that he only needs to take a couple of pills to get better. How should the nurse respond to Michael’s question and comment?

Please answer the following questions using your readings, the lecture, and the presentation for this week. Responses should be 2-3 complete and grammatically correct sentences at minimum. (10 Points Each)

1. What was Social Darwinism and how did it negatively impact Americans during this period?
2. What were the key elements for industrialization that the United States developed during and after the American Civil War?
3. What was the “New South” and what industries did southern states introduce during the 1880s to 1900?
4. How were the resources and people of the frontier west exploited by the growth of the United States during industrialization?
5. Three years after the western frontier was closed, a “financial panic” set in and lasted until 1897. Why did that panic occur and what were its effects?
6. What were some of the types of responses used by the U.S. government in response to strikes organized by Labor Unions and associated groups?
7. What were some of the laws and policies instituted by the states and the U.S. government that negatively impacted African American civil rights?
8. What was “Nativism” and what did its followers want?
9. How did the new literary genres of Science Fiction and “Rags to Riches” dime novels help determine American cultural attitudes?
10. How did the inventions, entertainments, and literature of the Gilded Age affect American culture?