Emma Smith is a 33-year-old female with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Emma was born in Queensland and is an only child and moved to Melbourne at age 20 to pursue a career in finance.

NURS 2118: Therapeutic Initiatives in Mental Health
Assessment Assessment Task 2
Assessment Title and type Case Study-Application of trauma informed care and motivational interviewing in mental health
Word Count 1,500 words (+/- 10%)
Weighting 40%
Due Date 2nd April 2023 @ 2359hrs
Associated Learning Outcomes 1. Explore the significance and advantages of utilising psychotherapeutic approaches within mental health as well as delivery of trauma informed care.
2. Critically examine the use of motivational interviewing when working with people experiencing a mental illness.
3. Examine the use of various psychotherapeutic approaches when working with people and their families experiencing a mental illness.
4. Evaluate the application of psychotherapy within mental health settings.
Background Information:
Emma Smith is a 33-year-old female with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Emma was born in Queensland and is an only child and moved to Melbourne at age 20 to pursue a career in finance. Emma was diagnosed with depression at age 14 however at age 21 she was diagnosed with first episode psychosis after experiencing her first psychotic episode resulting in an admission to a public mental health unit. During this admission she reports that she was sexually assaulted by a co consumer and had multiple episodes of seclusion. Emma engaged with a private psychiatrist and psychologist on discharge and remained stable and compliant with medication management.
Emma subsequently married her current husband at age 25 and has experienced a significant relapse at age 29 in the context of self ceasing medications and disengaging with private supports after being concerned of the impacts her medication was having on her unborn child at approx. 8months pregnancy. During this prolonged admission to a public mental health inpatient unit then to a mother baby unit She was diagnoses with schizoaffective disorder and was discharged on Olanzapine 15mg nocte and Fluoxetine 40mg mane. She re engaged with her private supports.
Emma is now 33 years of age and has been brought to the emergency department by her husband John who has concerns regarding early warning signs of relapse after noticing Emma has been talking to herself, poor sleep and appetite and anhedonia. John also reports that two months ago they commenced IVF treatment. Whilst in the emergency department she is placed under an Assessment Order and then a Temporary Treatment Order and admitted to the public mental health inpatient unit.
Assessment Task:
You are Emma’s contact nurse for the afternoon at day 3 (Sunday) of her admission. Emma has been recommenced on her medication regime of Olanzapine 15mg nocte and Fluoxetine 40mg mane since arriving on the ward.
Emma has been isolating in her room since being admitted and at times has been heard responding to internal stimuli in a distressed manner. She is presenting as guarded and difficult to engage with regarding her mental state. You have gone to administer her nocte medication and she is refusing this stating “I don’t want it; I just want to go home and see my family. I don’t feel safe here.” She further states she has concerns regarding the safety of the medication but won’t disclose exactly what the concerns are. You also note that she refused the previous nights dose and has been refusing to engage with her treating team and nursing staff.
Details of the Task/Instructions:
- Your introduction should set the scene for the essay, provide context and the scope of what areas your essay would be discussing.
- Discuss how you would utilise the principles of trauma informed care and trans theoretical model of change and motivational interviewing to support Emma when it comes to her taking her medications as prescribed and engaging with services. Your discussion should be embedded within the available evidence-based literature around the concepts.
- You will need to demonstrate a good understanding of how to link/incorporate MI while providing trauma informed care.
- What strategies would you employ as a mental health nurse when it comes to working with Emma and her family to promote recovery?
Please note that this case scenario would also be used for your second written assignment so make sure you limit your discussion to only the relevant parts of the current assignment due to word limitation