Biopsychosocial Model

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Assessment is an essential role of mental health nursing and therefore an essential learning and development requirement for pre-registration nurses (Walker, Carpenter and Middlewick, 2013). Walker (2013) suggests, “Assessment is the means by which patients’ needs are ascertained and appropriate treatment plans created in conjunction with the patient” (p.1). As an essential area of mental health nursing learning and development, it is important that student nurses develop a critical awareness of how to employ assessments in practice. Walker (2013) defines assessment in mental health nursing in broad terms as: “A process by which we ascertain the history, current situation and potential treatment of a person requesting and requiring healthcare” …show more content…

The SMFQ is a psychological assessment tool (Verhulst and van der Ende, 2006) and therefore only measures the psychological paradigm mentioned above. Another approach would be to assess both the sociological and psychological and this approach is referred to as the psychosocial method (Barker, 2009). However, in mental health nursing it is important that we get the ‘whole-picture’ of a person as it helps to inform patient care. The ‘whole-picture’ can only be created when all three paradigms are assessed in tandem, this is called the bio-psychosocial model (Walker, Carpenter and Middlewick, 2013). The bio-psychological model is underpinned by the theory that the Sociological, Biological, and Psychological paradigms are all interlinked and what can appear to be separate issues are often related. It suggests that the mind and body are connected and interdependent, physical illness could therefore impact on social and psychological functioning and vice versa (Norman and Ryrie, 2013). The bio-psychosocial model encourages nurses to assess the variety of complex factors which could lead to mental illness, such as depression, and to evaluate the factors from which mental illness may have developed and are maintained (Walker, Carpenter and Middlewick, 2013). Although assessment tools such as the SMFQ are useful to help support decisions when care planning for a patient. It is necessary to consider the biological and sociological parts to assessment to provide a holistic care plan for a patient (Barker, 2009). It could be argued therefore that the SMFQ provides a brief psychological assessment of a patient and is useful in identifying the presence of depression, but that it does not take into account interlinked biological and social factors which may have an impact. The SMFQ will assist in identifying the need for care, but doesn’t

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