Depression is among the most commonly experienced issue experienced among patients with a mental disorder. The issue cuts across all populations, and dangerously affect the patients’ wellbeing. Depressed patients, however, can either show subjective or objective symptoms. The symptoms can be revealed through physical examination or through examining the patient’s health history. In identifying if a patient is depressed, various assessment tools might be used. If the issue is detected, the patient can be addressed by various care services.
Subjective and Objective finding
When performing a physical examination and reviewing a patent’s history, several symptoms can be found, and their presence can indicate depression. Some of the objective findings include historical mental illness, social phobia history, and a history of anxiety disorder in the patient (Caplan et al., 2010). Also, subjective findings such as anhedonia, worthlessness, and a sense of guilt can be considered indications of depression so that further examination can be performed.
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Assessment tool
Patient Health Questionnaire can be used to screen depressed patients to determine the level of depression in a patient (Caplan et al., 2010). The tool works by measuring the behavioral manifestations of a patient, thereby enabling identification of how to sever a patient is depressed. With the aid of the tool, a therapist can also realize the effectiveness of medication and therapy on a patient. If the patient tests PHQ-9, then he or she is considered positive for depression.
Services
The various healthcare institutions, as well as individual psychotherapists in my community, offer a number of health intervention services to help depressed patients. The first type of service offered by the resources is psychodynamic therapy (Unützer, & Park, 2012). The resources also provide the society to address depression among mentally ill individuals in society through interpersonal and cognitive behavioral therapy. The nature of therapy services provided to patients varies widely with the symptoms of depression a patient is diagnosed with.
References
Caplan, S., Alvidrez, J., Paris, M., Escobar, J. I., Dixon, J. K., Desai, M. M., Whittemore, R., & Scahill, L. D. (2010). Subjective versus objective: an exploratory analysis of latino primary care patients with self-perceived depression who do not fulfill primary care evaluation of mental disorders patient health questionnaire criteria for depression. Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatry , 12 (5), PCC.09m00899. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.09m00899blu
Unützer, J., & Park, M. (2012). Strategies to improve the management of depression in primary care. Primary care , 39 (2), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2012.03.010
