Health_Psychology

Health Psychology Committee Report By: Merissa Cochran Date: August 29, 2010 Instructor: Sherry Williams Class: HCA/250 Health Psychology Committee Report The health psychology committee is designed and committed to better the health of patients and assist the patients in getting the shortest hospital stay, while improving the hospitals performance with respect to following the appropriate protocols. The committee has established a new department of psychiatry which will employ five specialists who will be responsible for addressing specific interest of a wide-ranging population and they will assist the hospital in treating the “whole” patient. The psychology committee has sought to address a key issue facing individuals who are facing a hospital stay- that is, an overriding fear of hospitals. One of the most major fears that adults and children face is the fear of hospitals according to the Child Development Institute (2008). The fear of hospitals often manifests itself in stress, which can make the illnesses or ailments worse. Stress impacts the immune system and psychological interventions can help the patient’s to develop coping skills to avoid or eliminate these stressors (Sarafino, 2006). The committee’s goal is to reduce the stress for patients, enhance their health, and increase compliances by the patient with treatment programs and shorten hospital stays by incorporating psychology into health care. The patient will additionally be provided with coping strategies that will help them cope with their illness both inside and outside of the hospital. Overview of the Program The Health Psychology Committee program will include services of five psychologists in the division of psychiatry. The positions are: Child Psychology, Substance Abuse Counselors, Pain management specialist, inpatient-only psychologist, and adult psychologist. The specialist will work with individual patients to coordinate with the physicians and other specialist to develop a holistic treatment plan. The Division will meet together to discuss each individual case, offer support and advise, and assess progress of each patient. Through the focus on hope, caring, and self control the division will employ positive approaches. According to Bolt (2004), people who have developed the ability to cope and control their reactions to stressors will be able to withstand the stresses of their illnesses and other issues of health. Due to the patients having a say in what treatment plan they would like the more positive towards complying with their plan and have better attitudes overall. Psychologist will identify challenging areas, help set goals and identify benefits that will accrue from those goals. They will anticipate obstacles to achieving the goals, and help develop coping skills to assist the patient throughout the process. The psychologist will need to address important issues-the social network of each patient (Bolt, 2004). The psychologists’ role in developing an attitude or hope cannot be underestimated. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things (Bolt, 2004, p. 159).” Any patient with hope has great propensity for optimism, which influences both their health and response to treatment. Optimistic people are less stressed by surgical procedures and they feel like they have better control over their lives and treatments (Bolt, 2004). Optimism can also help patients recover more quickly than pessimistic patients. With the incorporation of psychology in treatment this can shorten a patient’s stay at the hospital (Bolt, 2004). Consequently, the new division of Psychiatry will provide positive methods to strengthen hope, self control, and coping skills for each individual patient. The five psychologist and their responsibilities are described below. Child Psychologist The Child psychologist will be working closely with schools in ensuring that the children treated will receive recommended exercise programs, healthy food choices, daily medications if needed, and proper education for those that may be suffering from a learning disability. The children psychologist will help encourage the schools to create health education programs for the children of school age. Due to the recent emphasis on obesity prevention, the programs will focus on healthy eating and exercise. Other areas to be addressed by the Child Psychologist would be psychological issues that affect responses to medical treatment, such as coping skills and fear of hospitals, as well as working with the schools directly to develop programs and implement techniques for integrating seriously ill children in their classrooms. In addition, the Child Psychologist will work with each individual child to help them develop coping mechanisms for dealing with the stress that they may obtain through a hospital visit or stay. The psychologist will work to advance the knowledge of hospitalizations to children to help them understand what process they may go through or have been through. The Child Psychologist will give the child a tour of the hospital upon arrival so the child can have a greater ease with their surroundings (Sarafino, 2006). Additionally, the children may suffer from long periods of separation from their parent or guardian and that will also be an act of the psychologist to step in and help with their distress (Sarafino, 2006). The Child Psychologist will also work with the children who are ill tempered in large settings to help reinforce the idea that they are not alone. Group sessions may also assist the psychologist in observing the different physical or behavior challenges that an individual child may be going through. This will help the child’s physician to address the proper issues and the proper treatment plan. During each hospital stay the child psychologist will meet with the children regularly in their room along with the surgeons, physicians, and nurses to ease the child’s fears and to minimize exposure to stress. Having the child psychologist stay on a regular visiting schedule will help the child cope with the disease, treatment, or other related stresses to a hospital stay. Finally, if the child has a terminal illness, the child psychologist will help the family and child cope with and develop adequate skills that may be needed to address the psychological aspects of the illness. Another responsibility that will be added onto the child psychologist would be to help the family and child to understand grief and help them come to an acceptance of the issues that may arise. The psychologist will come together with other professionals to help each individual face and cope with their challenges. Substance Abuse Counselor Each time a patient is admitted to a facility for substance abuse issues, or when a patient develops a substance abuse problem, a counselor will coordinate their recovery program and care while in the facility. In addition, the counselor will be responsible for arranging after care for the patient. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol have a physical and psychological dependence on the substance so the care for abuse can be quite complex. Interventions from the counselor must address physical and psychological dependences (Sarafino, 2006). The counselor will need to address interventions to help the patient deal with the psychological stresses and physical challenges if a substance abuse patient is suffering through withdrawal. Additionally, the counselor develops detoxification plans for the substance abuse patient. The detoxification will include an assessment of readiness for treatment and change. Individual and group sessions may be incorporated by the counselor to help the patients understand they are not only. Letting a patient know this may help to inspire hope upon the individual patient (Sarafino, 2006). Individual therapy will focus on coping skills to help reduce the potential of the patient to relapse, and will seek to help the patient understand that they have choices and their choices can be made to help their health and everyday lives. The counselor will also help by developing a plan for cognitive restructuring which will help replace negative and destructive thoughts with positive, constructive, and realistic thoughts and will also teach relaxation methods to help the patient learn how to handle stress (Sarafino, 2006). Keeping in mind the individual patient different methods and plans will be designed by the Division's substance abuse counselor with focus on optimism and hope. The Counselor will focus on giving the patient hop throughout the treatment process since hope is essential to the patient’s recovery (Taylor, 2008). Pain Management Specialist The Pain Management Specialist will focus on the psychological aspects of pain. Non-pharmaceutical interventions for dealing with pain such as: relaxation techniques and coping skills will be the first focus for the specialist. When pharmaceutical intervention is necessary, the Pain Management Specialist will coordinate with the patient's physician. When the specialist is able to reduce or eliminate the pain of the patient, they will be more likely to have a positive approach and hopefulness for their recovery (Psychzone, 2001). If a patient has a combination of a physical illness and a substance abuse issue, the specialist will coordinate their care with other members of the team, such as the Substance Abuse Counselor and Adult Psychologist, as well as the patient's physician, to ensure the best treatment protocol is addressed. Emphases on biofeedback, therapy, restructuring, relaxation techniques, and massage therapy will be included from the specialist in all treatments that a patient may endure (Psychzone, 2001). When the patient is facing a terminal or chronic illness, the specialist will help develop the most beneficial protocol to keep the patient comfortable and as free as possible from pain. Inpatient-only Psychologist The Inpatient-only Psychologist will coordinate with all other specialists on staff in the Division, as well as with the patient's physician, to help prepare the patient for their procedures, hospitalization, and surgery. The focus will be on helping the patient develop a positive and optimistic outlook about their experience and to help them develop a sense of control over the situation. The Psychologist will use a variety of age-appropriate approaches, including personal discussion, videos, audios, printed materials, and books to help the patients understand and develop greater comfort with the situation. By helping educate the patient regarding their experience, their anxiety levels will be reduced and the patient will feel more in control of their situation (Sarafino, 2006). The Psychologist will work with other Division staff to help the patient develop coping skills, including the use of guided imagery, biofeedback, distraction, and relaxation techniques. In addition, the Psychologist will apply operant conditioning approaches when appropriate (Sarafino, 2006). Finally, the psychologist will assess the pain of the patients upon admission and will work with other Division members to develop a strategy to help the patient deal with their pain in the most appropriate and beneficial manner. Adult Psychologist The Adult Psychologist helps adults by providing them with stress-relief interventions; enhancing their coping skills, diagnosing stress disorders, and helping the patient deal with terminal or chronic illnesses. In keeping with the overall goals of the Division, the Adult Psychologist will focus on positive methods, optimism, and individual control. The Adult Psychologist will coordinate with the Pain Management Specialist and other specialists, as necessary, to address pain issues, reduce stress, and help the patient adjust to their situation. The Psychologist will help patients work through their reactions to diagnoses, and will work with the patients and their families to develop positive methods for coping with their diagnoses. When facing terminal illnesses, the psychologist will coordinate with other specialists in the Division and with Hospice workers to address the needs of the individual and their family. Conclusion Health care has been focused on addressing the physical maladies of individuals without focusing on the entire patient. The new Division, with the coordinated approach focusing on the whole patient – the psychological and physical issues of the patient – will help reduce hospital stays and increase patient compliance with treatment protocols. Engendering hope in the patient is an essential component to the patient's recovery (Bolt, 2004). Thus, the primary role of these new professionals will be to help the patients develop a sense of hope, develop their coping skills, and develop a sense of control over their health care and environment. Through education, counseling, understanding, and coordination, the Division of Psychology can contribute positively to the patient's recovery. References Bolt, M. (2004). Pursuing human strengths: A positive psychology guide. New York: Worth Publishers. Retrieved August 29, 2010. Child Development Institute (2009). Helping your child deal with fears & phobias. Retrieved August 29, 2010 from http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/fears.htm. Psychzone, Inc. (2001). Pain Management. The Health Psychology Network (2008). Retrieved August 29, 2010, from http://www.healthpsychology.net/Pain_Management.htm. Taylor, A. (2008, September 25) A new deal for children's trust. Community Care, 1737 (32-34). Retrieved from SIRS database. Retrieved August 29, 2010. Sarafino, E.P. (2006). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions (5th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved August 29, 2010.