insatiable

The Minds of Billy Milligan written by Daniel Keyes is a pretty good one about Multiple Personality Disorder. Its a true story and Keyes developed the book from interviews with Billy, state hospitals, law enforcement, etc. Billy Milligan was arrested for the rape of 3 women and in a landmark trial was acquitted by reason of insanity caused by MPD-the first such court decision in history. Interesting read.

During my counseling graduate program when we were learning about disorders we did a project that was a combination of what the OP suggested and MissGwen suggested...it was very educational. This is how we did it: In groups of three or four we were each assigned one group of disorders (mood, personality, dissociative etc). We then had to do a presentation about what the disorder grouping is, statistics, definitions, list the disorders under that grouping (example: mood disorders include major depression, dysthymia, bipolar etc). Then we had to pick a specific disorder under that grouping to focus on in more detail. Say we were assigned mood disorders, well then our group could pick one of the mood disorders (say bipolar for example) to talk about in more detail such as treatment, medications, etc etc for that specific disorder...now I realize nursing is different than counseling so there may be other topics you may include to fit the needs of the nursing students. We had to do a power point for the information part but that was really the only requirement..well aside from having to cover all of the information on the disorder. We pretty much had to be creative (creativity was one of the sections we were graded on so we couldnt just read straight from a power point) and teach the class about the disorder...and by teaching we were learning too. Here are some examples of what some of the students did: -In the power point some included a slide of person in history that had whatever disorder they were assigned and talked about how it impacted thier life (example: Van Gogh, major depression-included some pictures of his artwork etc) -Included a clip or two from a movie that depicts an example of disorder and discussed the symptoms etc the character was exhibiting of that disorder ooor in what ways the movie clips misrepresent the disorder -Some included clips from youtube of actual persons talking about their disorder -Some put poetry written by person with mental illness -Some did a breif skit -Some handed out material on the disorder to the class to keep -Some did a brief game, like jepordy, at the end on the information covered and gave a prize (like a peice of candy ha) to who won -Some played a part of song that had lyrics relating to the disorder and then talked about how its portrayed in modern society A lot of people even did a combination of the things above. Like a power point, a figure in history, and a movie clip. The only thing our professor assigned was the disorder grouping, what topics she wanted us to cover, and we had to include at least 3 article or book references...and she wanted at least part of it on a power point. The rest was up to us to figure out which really helped us learn and understand the disorders better. The whole thing was supposed to be about 30 mintues long. I think it helps to just give a few directions on what you want then let them figure out the rest...makes them think more. For example, if you are wanting them to use movie clips maybe dont give them a list and let them figure out a movie of their own..just my opinion from a students perspective. Opps, that got kinda long didnt it, sorry

I saw a thread on here relating to child abuse so I thought Id give some information on the process of reporting child abuse. -As mandated reporters we are required by law to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect on any child under the age of 18 or a physically or mentally handicapped child under the age of 21. Its important to note that you need to only suspect or have reason to believe abuse is occurring; physical proof or other forms of validation are not required. It is the responsibility of the children services agency, through investigation, to determine if abuse or neglect is actually occurring. -A report of suspected child abuse or neglect is confidential. Your identity will not be released to anyone without your written consent. -Upon report, children services will begin investigation within 24hrs to determine validity of the allegation, unless the child is in immediate harm for severe physical abuse or the parents are mentally unstable then the child may be removed immediatly. Investigation includes a visit to the childs home to interview the parents and the child. Contact may also be made to anyone else that may provide more information, such as teachers, docters, etc. As a mandated reporter you are also entitled to know the status of the case. Children services has 30-45 days to investigate reports, after this time frame you are able to call (this is only available to mandated reporters) to see if the case was closed or is being pursued. -Through investigation, one of three determinations will be made on the report: 1.Report unsubstantiated-no evidence of abuse or neglect 2.Report indicated-isolated indicators of abuse or neglect but lacks confirmation 3.Report substantiated-admission of abuse or neglect or any other confirmation deemed valid *Children services may or may not stay involved or make refferals for support services on ANY of these three findings depending on the level of risk. That means even a report that is unsubstantiated but is high risk may have a case continued for monitoring or assistance. -The agency then makes decisions on how to serve the family, which could be any of the following: 1.No court involvement required, in home services provided and child stays in the home-most cases dont require court involvement. Most families do not neglect or injure a child with willful intent, and want help to correct circumstances which caused the occurence. It is important to remember that trauma caused by removing the child from thier home may often be as damaging as the act of abuse itself. For this reason, a child will not be removed from the home unless there is a serious threat to their health. Services will be provided to the family and child as a unit. Some examples of this may be in home family counseling (which is what I do), parenting classes, drug/alcohol counseling, job training, public assitance, domestic violence services, medical care, etc. 2.Court involvement required-If family refuses services or child is in a potentially harmful situation, court involvement will be initiated. Charges may be filed against perpetrator if appropriate. 3.Court orders placement of child-if child is in immediate danger, court will order removal of child from home to ensure safety. 4.Court orders services for family and child remains in the home-the court may place family under protective services supervision. Child can stay in home as long as family participates in appropriate community services (family counseling, parenting classes, etc). -As long as the child isnt in immediate danger, children services prefers the child to stay in the home and work with the family as a unit. So although it may appear that nothing is being after a report of abuse because the children are not removed from the home, often times the family is still being supervised by professionals to monitor the situation (children services may still have a case open and supervising or maybe children services closed their case but made referrals for supportive services to the family such as counseling etc which they continue to participate in after the closure of the case). -Treatment/Outcomes 1.Case planning-set goals and time lines to completing those goals 2.Children services or court determines services successful-through provision of appropriate supportive services family able to prevent occurrence of abuse or neglect (90% of people involved can be treated successfully). Children services or court need modified-maybe due to unexpected crisis etc 3.Children services or court determines services are unsuccessful-if it becomes apparent during case planning that parents are unwilling or unable to accomplish goals, the court will terminate parental rights. I work with children services (CS) on a regular basis due to the fact that our organization recieves most of the refferals for supportive services for families involved with CS. In my town, CS is actually working on getting out information to the community (especially mandated reporters such as police officers, teachers, nurses, doctors, etc) to help better understand how the process works, clear any misconceptions, etc. So this blurb is some of that information. Just thought Id share.

i have my masters degree in counseling and am contemplating going back to school for nursing with the next couple years, with the hope of eventually becoming a np. i was just curious to see if anyone else out there has made a career switch from a counseling or social work type field to nursing? even more specifically, those that hold a masters in thier first field and went on to earn a masters in nursing. feel free to share your experiences (what route did you take in getting the nursing degree, what you like and dislike about the career change, what area of nursing did you go into, any advice for someone thinking about making the switch, etc). thanks! :nuke:

Overgeneralizations are usually broad negative statements (well they can be positive too, but generally are negative because overgeneralizations tend to play into stereotypes that people have about others based on their experiences). For example, maybe a female patient of yours has had bad experiences with men in her life and she makes the statement " I dont want a man to be my nurse because no man cant be trusted". You might challenge her irrational thought by asking her to name one good man in her life or one good experience with a man to help her gain insight that not ALL men are bad. Magnification occurs when invididuals view small mistakes/problems/etc as bigger than what they really are. Have you ever heard of the saying "making a mountain out of a mole hill"? On the flip side, people will also minimize problems. People that are minimizing thier behaviors lack insight into how thier behavior is affecting not only thier life but also others around them. An easy example of minimizing would be someone with an addiction making a statement like "I dont even drink that much, I can control it", when in reality theyre drinking everyday and have 3 DUIs. Catastrophic thinking is like a more severe form of magnification where people view events in black or white...all or nothing...good or bad...success or fail...etc etc. Perfectionists exhibit this type of thinking. For example, a nursing student gets an 93 on a biology test but is distraught because he/she missed 7 points. Then the individual thinks well Im going to fail this class, then I wont be able to become a nurse, I will have wasted my money on college for nothing, Ill never have a good job, etc etc...you get the point. Catastrophic thinking happens pretty frequently with people that have depression or anxiety. Hope that helps some

I think it just depends on what kind of lifestyle you hope to have outside of work and what your expectations are as far as what you hope to be doing every day at work. For example, if youre more interested in talking with people about problems maybe SW would give you more job satisfaction. If youre more interested in medical aspects of mental illness maybe nursing is the route to go. You not only need to think about your satisfaction at work but also how the job will impact you outside of work. Nurses generally make more money than social workers but with having 2 young children maybe the money wouldnt be worth the sacrifice of having to work longers hours, holidays, weekends, etc. Social workers generally have more traditional hours (of course it depends where you work) than nurses. Youd have to go to school longer for social work, so how do you feel about 4 years of college compared to two to become a nurse? It really just depends what is most important to you; some may say more money, traditional hours, emphasis on talking to clients/patients, not working nights/weekends/holidays, less time in school, benefits, a 3 day week compared to a 5 day week (from what I hear a lot of nurses work 3 12's), autonomy at work, etc....depends on the individual. Both of these fields have high burnout rates so its just very important to think about whats going to make you happy and what youre not willing to sacrifice. Im not a nurse but I do have a masters in counseling and work with some social workers. I see pros and cons to both careers. Personally, I am looking into accelerated nursing programs to go back to school again. However, its not because I dont like counseling. I love what I do. I am just the type of person that doesnt see myself having the same job until die haha...I like change. I dont know what type of person you are but if you are anything like me and like to have flexiblity to move around in differeent fields (something that is important to me) something else to consider would be the possibility of doing an accelerated nursing program in the future. Example: You could bust out your BSW now and then later down the road if you decided you wanted to do nursing you could do an second degree accelerated BSN program, which would only take about a year to complete. I dont know if that helps at all, but just some food for thought :).

No worker left behind? Im not real familiar...have you recently been laid off a job and recieving unemployment? I know here in Ohio anyone recieving unemployment benefits can go to thier local Community Action agency and they have programs for displaced workers. They generally will pay for displaced workers to go back to work (lets face it, the government wants people working to get those tax dollars ha). Theyll even pay for your books and give gas cards if you have to commute to school. Definitely look into it if that is your situation...if not, I guess I rambled for nothing and probably confused you ha. Good luck.

Heres a link to an interesting article I read the other day...just thought Id share :). Its about why people come to the ER for unecessary reasons. http://www.slate.com/id/2199645

I also feel that a mental health worker with the proper training would be perfectly capable of doing therapy etc with patients/clients just as well if not better than nurses. However, with that said, I saw on some of the posts that some of these mental health technicians dont have any training at all? Thats ridiculous! I personally take offense to that, you dont do therapy etc with people without some type of degree...thatd be like practicing nursing without a degree. What are the requirements to become a mental health tech? I can understand why any nurse would be a little peeved about that. However, if these mental health techs have at least an associates degree I dont see why they are looked at as inferior because they have the same amount of schooling as most nurses (not to mention that thier 2 years of school strickly focus on mental health and as stated before nurses dont get a whole lot of training in this area). Personally, I think anyone that spends time with patients/clients on a daily basis as much as nurses, mental health techs, etc do could use more training in mental health. In my opinion, a 10 week crash course just isnt enough to be prepared to deal with some of the serious psychological issues that are prevelant in individuals on a psych floor. Shoot, I have a masters degree in counseling and I still get taken back by things sometimes. I cant imagine how Id feel if I had no training at all or only a few weeks, let alone how the patients/clients might feel.

i guess my question to you is is this an elderly patient with dementia etc? or are you working on a psych floor with people with schizophrenia etc?...id help me in my explanation :).

What you seem to be describing is a person that is in a manic state, which occurs in people that have bipolar disorder (there are also different types of bipolar). However, with that said, it could also be related to a number of other things.

Im confused about what you are asking?? Treated a patient diagnosed with what?

Also keep in mind that there are mental illnesses that can appear to patients/clients malingering but are in fact mental illness. For example, many of the Somaform Disorders (hypochondriasis, conversion disorder, somatization disorder, pain disorder, etc) fall into this categorey that Im speaking of. Somatoform disorders differ from malingering (faking a disorder to achieve a goal) and factitious disorders (mental disorder in which symptoms of physical or mental illnesses are deliberately induced; also know as munchausen syndrome) in that people with somatoform disorders actually believe that a physical condition actually exists although no physiological basis for the complaints exists...but the patient/client believes the symptoms are real. Many people diagnosed with somatoform disorders also are likely to have comorbid disorders such as mood disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse (which Im sure you see quite frequently in a correctional facility). Not sure if this helps at all but just thought it might be something to be aware of. Just realized your question was posted a while ago, oh well ha. Im a new member so just getting use to the site.

First background info: -BS in Psychology (3.1 GPA) -M.Ed in Community and Rehabilitation Counseling (3.7 GPA) -Worked in residential facilty while in grad school for girls age 12-17 with emotional and behavioral problems. -Currently doing homebased family/individual counseling. -Decent amount of experience over the years through internships and such working with a wide variety of people with mental illness. Im looking into MSN programs for psych nursing. Ive always had an interest medicine and think that psych nursing would compliment my counseling degree and would also give me some room move in and out of different jobs. Although I love counseling I dont see myself doing it for 30 years straight...nor do I see myself doing nursing 30 years either. But between the 2 I think Id be happy. So I was wondering if any psych NP's or RN's in general have any advice about how to approach getting into psych nursing? What is the best way to avoid high costs for school but yet achieve the degree in a timely mannor? Ive been looking at direct-entry programs, what do people think about those? Or would it be best to get an ADN, work, then apply to an ADN-MSN program and have an employer pay? Any tips on these questions or anything else would be helpful. Im looking to go back to school in 2-3 years so trying to get it sorted out so I can take prereqs and such if need be. Also, would it be worth it to do the MSN to be a psych NP or an ADN RN on psych floor be just as good? Is there much of a pay difference between psych NP and reg RN on psych? How competitive are MSN psych programs? I apologize for being so lengthy haha Thanks so much

First background info: -BS in Psychology (3.1 GPA) -M.Ed in Community and Rehabilitation Counseling (3.7 GPA) -Worked in residential facilty while in grad school for girls age 12-17 with emotional and behavioral problems. -Currently doing homebased family/individual counseling. -Decent amount of experience over the years through internships and such working with a wide variety of people with mental illness. Im looking into MSN programs for psych nursing. Ive always had an interest medicine and think that psych nursing would compliment my counseling degree and would also give me some room move in and out of different jobs. Although I love counseling I dont see myself doing it for 30 years straight...nor do I see myself doing nursing 30 years either. But between the 2 I think Id be happy. So I was wondering if any psych NP's or RN's in general have any advice about how to approach getting into psych nursing? What is the best way to avoid high costs for school but yet achieve the degree in a timely mannor? Ive been looking at direct-entry programs, what do people think about those? Or would it be best to get an ADN, work, then apply to an ADN-MSN program and have an employer pay? Any tips on these questions or anything else would be helpful. Im looking to go back to school in 2-3 years so trying to get it sorted out so I can take prereqs and such if need be. Also, would it be worth it to do the MSN to be a psych NP or an ADN RN on psych floor be just as good? Is there much of a pay difference between psych NP and reg RN on psych? How competitive are MSN psych programs? I apologize for being so lengthy haha Thanks so much