Affective and Organic Disorders: Developing Mental Health Nursing Practice

Write a case study which identifies an individual with an organic or affective disorder and provide a brief rationale for their choice.

Identify the signs, symptoms and causes of affective or organic disorders in relation to the individual identified.

Draw on clinical and theoretical research evidence to discuss nursing assessment and evaluation of person centred recovery oriented nursing interventions which address the individual’s biological, psychological and social needs.

? Discuss the role of the mental health nurse in the context of working in partnership across family, organisational, ethical, legal, cultural and professional boundaries.

*I HAVE CHOSEN AN AFFECTIVE DISORDER(DEPRESSION),I would like this case study to be on depression.

*I would like my references to be from 6years ago to date.

*references should include, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence(NICE) guidelines, Department of health(DOH) and Nursing and Midwifery Council(NMC).

Sample Answer 

An organic mental disorder (OMD), also known as organic brain syndrome or chronic organic brain syndrome, is a form of decreased mental function due to a medical or physical disease, rather than a psychiatric illness. This differs from dementia.[1] While mental or behavioral abnormalities related to the dysfunction can be permanent,[2] treating the disease early may prevent permanent damage in addition to fully restoring mental functions. An organic cause to brain dysfunction is suspected when there is no indication of a clearly defined psychiatric or “inorganic” cause, such as a mood disorder.[3]  Now the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision) has broken up the diagnoses that once fell under the diagnostic category organic mental disorder into three categories: delirium, dementia, and amnestic.[3]  Organic brain syndrome can be divided into 2 major subgroups: acute (delirium or acute confusional state) and chronic (dementia). A third entity, encephalopathy (subacute organic brain syndrome)