Discussion: Psychiatric mental health

Post an explanation of how you, as a nurse practitioner, might become a social change agent for psychiatric mental health. Include how you might advocate for change within your own community.

Individuals with psychiatric mental health disorders are frequently stigmatized not only by society as a whole, but also by their friends, family, and sometimes healthcare providers. In your role, however, you have the opportunity to become a social change agent for these individuals. For this Discussion, consider how you might make a positive impact for your clients and advocate for social change within your own community.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

· Apply strategies to become a social change agent for psychiatric mental health

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Angermeyer, M. C., Matschinger, H., & Schomerus, G. (2013). Attitudes towards psychiatric treatment and people with mental illness: Changes over two decades. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(2), 146–151. Retrieved from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/203/2/146.full

Bui, Q. (2012). Antidepressants for agitation and psychosis in patients with dementia. American Family Physician, 85(1), 20–22. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/journals/afp.html

Note: Retrieved from from the Walden Library databases.

Dingfelder, S. F. (2009). Stigma: Alive and well. American Psychological Association, 40(6), 56. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/stigma.aspx

Jenkins, J. H. (2012). The anthropology of psychopharmacology: Commentary on contributions to the analysis of pharmaceutical self and imaginary. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 36(1), 78–79. doi:10.1007/s11013-012-9248-0

Note: Retrieved from from the Walden Library databases.

Price, L. H. (2010). Violence in America: Is psychopharmacology the answer? Brown University Psychopharmacology Update, 21(5), 5. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1556-7532

Note: Retrieved from from the Walden Library databases.

Optional Resources

Bennett, T. (2015). Changing the way society understands mental health. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/April-2015/Changing-The-Way-Society-Understands-Mental-Health

Mechanic, D. (2007). Mental health services then and now. Health Affairs, 26(6), 1548–1550. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/26/6/1548.full

Rothman, D. J. (1994). Shiny, happy people: The problem with “cosmetic psychopharmacology.” New Republic, 210(7), 34–38.

To prepare for this Discussion:

· Reflect on how you might influence social change for psychiatric mental health.

Note : For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit !

By Day 3

Post an explanation of how you, as a nurse practitioner, might become a social change agent for psychiatric mental health. Include how you might advocate for change within your own community.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. Discussion: Psychiatric mental health