Vulnerable Population – Mental Health Patients and Mental Health Patients with Substance Use Disorder

The resolve to better community health has been earmarked by considerable emphasis on lessening healthcare disparities. Notwithstanding, significant disparities are still apparent among vulnerable populations. To these populations, traditional healthcare problems such as poor access to healthcare, risk of disease, and mortality are still imminent. Mental health patients and mental health patients with substance use disorders are just but a fraction of populations affected by healthcare inequalities and other health-related problems (Diaz et al., 2021). In the pursuit of better communities, a close look at this population is necessitated. This paper reports an interview with a caregiver handling mental health patients, emphasizing the needs of these patients, interactions with these patients, therapeutic approach for these populations, and available local resources valuable in their management process.

Overview and Roles of the Interviewee

The interviewed person is William Bomar. He is a social worker at an outpatient mental health clinic for veterans. He noted that his roles include coordinating care for these patients, holding individual and group counseling sessions, and conducting psychosocial and cognitive assessments with other caregivers.

Development of Needs Assessment

Needs assessment remains integral to comprehensive and quality mental healthcare. It provides a framework for identifying services that address patient suffering. As per the interviewee’s reports, the development of needs assessment starts by establishing what is going on with the patient. This initial process utilizes diverse mental health screening tools such as the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), general anxiety disorder assessment tool (GAD7), brief addiction monitor (BAM), and other screening tools valuable in aiding the diagnosis of various mental health illnesses.

Holistic and psychosocial approaches to mental health disorders assessment are a central feature of comprehensive mental healthcare. Psychosocial assessment evaluates individual mental health, functional capacity within society, and social status. As Bower retorted, psychosocial assessment often comes after caregivers have a baseline of what is happening to the patient. It is intended to evaluate the client’s physical, mental, and emotional health. While various screening tools provide a pathway for understanding these elements, they may not be sufficient in giving the actual position of the patient’s mental health status, and caregivers have to ask a series of questions to get a clear picture of what is happening to the patients.

Findings from various screening tools, along with the subjective findings from the patients, may point towards a specific diagnosis and guide the therapeutic interventions done on the patient. Several therapeutic interventions are available for patients with mental health illnesses. Psychotherapeutic interventions and pharmacotherapeutic approaches have been used adjunctively in managing many mental health illnesses. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy, and contingency management therapy, among other options, are effective in lessening symptom severity and improving the quality of life of persons with mental health disorders.

Approach to Patients

Approaching patients with mental health illnesses may be challenging for some caregivers. Central to caregiver-patient interactions during healthcare engagement in mental healthcare setup is the ability of caregivers to have contextual awareness of the patients they are dealing with (Muhorakeye & Biracyaza, 2021). As the interviewee reported, successful interaction with clients with mental health illnesses is centered on the fundamental principles of respect, caring, and effective communication. Acknowledging that these patients are human beings is key. Accordingly, this will allow caregivers to treat them with the same respect and consideration as they would have treated other groups of patients. Additionally, it will eliminate an element of bias that may cloud caregivers’ judgment when treating them.

The first step when approaching these patients is to create a positive therapeutic environment. A positive therapeutic environment promotes healing for the patients and supports the needs of healthcare professionals and the client. This can be attained by ensuring the room is exposed to nature and maintains freedom from noise and interruptions. Optimizing seat arrangement in the room by ensuring the chairs are similar and comfortable, the lighting is welcoming, and the temperature is comfortable may also help create a positive therapeutic environment. This is then proceeded by creating a good therapeutic relationship with the client. Tolosa‐Merlos et al. (2022) note that a t