Charlie Leonard, a 68-year-old widower, has been progressively reclusive and lonely in recent years. His primary care nurse specialist recommended he visit a psychiatric nurse practitioner due to the deterioration of his mental and physical condition. The GDS, or geriatric depression scale, is an evaluation instrument that may be utilized to assess Charlie in these circumstances. It is regarded as a particular medicinal tool for elderly individuals. The geriatric depression scale is one of the most regularly used measures for testing older persons for depression (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2020). Depression is a mental illness that is under-reported and under-specified by medical providers (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2020). It comprises a few inquiries to which participants must respond affirmatively or negatively. Charlie would comfortably pass this procedure since he was in a condition of sadness where he was reduced and limited to consolation.
The geropsychiatric interview is a qualitative research and testing method that can be used in the case of Charlie. It is a treatment for elderly adults who are facing the consequences of mental illnesses, tension, or depression. This is owing to the fact that elderly people suffer from a variety of ailments, as well as medical vulnerability and intricacy. When interviewing young individuals and elderly persons, a number of issues must be addressed, particularly when interviewing seniors, who are more vulnerable and delicate. While dealing with senior patients such as Charlie, it is compulsory to decrease the working rhythm when asking questions due to probable diminished mental capacity and to explain procedures more precisely. Since Charlie is lonely, it is vital to offer him open-ended questions to elicit his thoughts on life and maintain a positive relationship in order to conduct a good interview and treatment session. Concerning the understanding of processing, I can conclude that Charlie will be ready for this process if his reaction during sessions is adequate and no serious health repercussions of his mental state are present.
To establish contact with Charlie, it is necessary to be more intimate with him and learn about his insights while questioning him about his life, providing delightful personal details in the form of feedback. Such people have a variety of health issues; thus, their past medical documents are necessary. If Charlie were a young adult, the difference in sessions would be related to the increased speed of asking questions and the rise in the working rhythm.
As a concrete therapy methodology for traumatic situations, Charlie might not benefit from eye movement desensitization. EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is a contemporary and evidence-based therapeutic option for post-traumatic stress disorder (Landin-Romero et al., 2018). The success of EMDR, compared to other approaches, is matched by a lack of understanding of its fundamental mode of action (Landin-Romero et al., 2018). In reality, it may cause additional distress, affecting the patient’s mental state. In contrast, alternative psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy or interpersonal psychotherapy can be more appropriate and beneficial.
During treatments and sessions, it may be advised that movement acts can aid in the therapy of those who have experienced a variety of traumatic events, as it is in the case of Charlie. As a physiologist, it is consequently a unique personal function to allow the client to move during the appointment, for example, exercise, walk, or stretch. In this instance, they will be more confident and accepting of the therapy procedure as a whole.
Exposure treatment, which involves showing the patient anything they are experiencing negative feelings about, is unnecessary and should have no influence on their behavior. This enhances social adjustment and allows individuals to return to their life as it was before the traumatic experience since they are no longer afraid of it. During the appointment, group therapy can link the individual who has already digested their traumatic incident with others who have suffered the same experience. In fact, a person who has processed trauma between sessions should be supported by initially validating their suffering and embracing them as individuals with respect.
References
Krishnamoorthy, Y., Rajaa, S., & Rehman, T. (2020). Diagnostic accuracy of various forms of geriatric depression scale for the screening of depression among older adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 87, 104002.
Landin-Romero, R., Moreno-Alcazar, A., Pagani, M., & Amann, B. L. (2018). How do eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy work? A systematic review of suggested mechanisms of action. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1395.