Mental health is one of the key aspects of an effective community as well as society. Mental health in the community is the pattern of mental health care in a particular community (Lundy & Janes, 2009). It has been a long practice to isolate mentally ill people. In many countries or even US area, such patients are being isolated and treated improperly. However, now the vast majority of such patients are being treated within their habitual environment as it is believed that natural settings favorably affect clients’ healing.
It is necessary to note that mental health nursing came into existence only in the 19th century when activists started drawing public’s attention to the inhumane attitude towards mentally ill people (Lundy & Janes, 2009). Those patients were often dehumanized in the asylums for mentally ill people. The 19th century was the time when activists started creating hospitals where mentally ill people were treated humanely.
The beginning of the twentieth century was favorable for the development of mental health centers as this was the time of special research into psychiatry. In the second part of the twentieth century, there was another wave of attention to mentally ill people’s treatment. This was also the time when people started thinking about the environment favorable for such patients’ healing.
Notably, each community contributes to the development of proper practices to treat mentally ill people. At the same time, each community has specific epidemiological mental health factors. For instance, one of such factors in my community is a significant rate of accident.
There is a busy road in the district and many people have accidents. Therefore, there is a significant rate of posttraumatic stress disorders. Wittchen et al. (2009) claim that this is quite a common mental disorder which should be treated. Otherwise, it can transform into much more severe disorders.
Therefore, it is clear that the local community mental health centers should be equipped with the necessary tools to help people cope with their health problems. Apart from this, it is important to make people aware of the importance to address the center after the accident. People often fail to notice when the problem has started. This leads to more issues related to mental health. Thus, people should have some information about certain symptoms and the necessity to get professional care.
It is possible to state that nursing has become one of the central elements of mental healthcare. Admittedly, a number of conceptual frameworks have been developed to help nurses work out new strategies and practices (Lundy & Janes, 2009). One of such conceptual frameworks is interpersonal theory. The major focus is made on the relationship between the client and the nurse.
This is an effective approach; especially in the long run as the relationship developed helps address health issues. The approach is also effective for community health nursing as the client benefits from the natural settings and support from the nurse. Another effective framework is the theory of adaptation. The theory is based on the concept that people tend to adapt to different settings.
Thus, nurses develop specific plans to stimulate clients to adapt to the changing circumstances. Finally, the theory of human becoming is also regarded as one of the most effective frameworks nowadays. This conceptual framework focuses on client’s experiences rather than his/her health problems. The nurse guides the client and helps him/her adjust to the environment. This framework is applicable in the contemporary community mental health nursing practice.
Reference List
Lundy, K.S, & Janes, S. (2009). Community health nursing: Caring for the public’s health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Wittchen, H.U., Gloster, A., Beesdo, K., Schönfeld, S., & Perkonigg, A. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder: Diagnostic and epidemiological perspective. CNS Spectrums, 14(1), 5-12.