Part 1
My general feelings about this topic have always been directed at the perception that this condition has got hereditary connections. I have always thought it is parents who pass down these traits to their parents who show these characteristics when they reach their teenage years. Secondly, I have been associating this condition with suicidal thoughts in addition to persons having borderline personalities. I have never known that anxiety disorders, anorexia, substance abuse, and schizophrenia are the other causes of the condition (Walsh, 2012). In addition to these factors, the only treatment option that I have known to be the most effective for the condition is through the usage of antidepressant drugs.
Part 2
Input from the readings has altered my perceptions in several ways. My perceptions concerning this condition have greatly changed in a manner that I now have a better understanding of it and the most effective ways through which it can be addressed. I have learnt that health care providers have named this condition as a borderline kind of condition mainly because they usually get irritated when dealing with such patients; a condition that makes them not to fully understand the mechanisms related to the disease.
I have come to learn that the treatment process of this condition is not only focused on prescribing antidepressants to these patients but rather focusing on multiple intervention techniques. The biopsychosocial treatment model is the one that is useful in addressing the problems associated with the SIB condition (Askew & Byrne, 2009). It is important that care providers understand the condition from the societal level to the molecular level in addition to addition to understanding the patient’s perception of the diseases so as to comfortably address the condition. As such, I have had a clear understanding of the roles that social influence, neurochemical processes and chemical distortions play in restoring such patients to their original states of health. My perception of the cause of the condition has also changed since I now understand that, in an event where an individual inflicts bodily pain on themselves, the brain reacts by releasing endorphins which are the chemical substances vital for providing emotional support to a SIB patient. Such an event leads to the patient having hallucinations. Another major factor that contributes to increasing SBI incidences includes children being neglected by their parents and also living in unsuitable conditions. Additionally, children with the attention-deficit syndrome and those ones with bipolar disorders and epilepsy are likely to develop SBI condition (Askew & Byrne, 2009). A foremost step towards providing care dwells on having a good understanding of the emotional state of a traumatized child or teenager. This step is directed at having a better understanding through which the appropriate care can be provided. Furthermore, I have learnt that it is not only antidepressants which should be prescribed to individuals who are experiencing SIB instances. The most appropriate pharmacological agents that should be utilized in solving this problem will include; naltrexone, sertraline and clonidine. These drugs have been experiential in addressing the acute states of inner aversive tension, the urge to involve in SIBs, dissociative symptoms, and also a narcotic antagonist in treating opioid addiction. Moreover, I have also been in a position to learn that SIB cases are accompanied by dysphoria and analgesics.
It is important that care providers have a good understanding of the behavioral and cognitive frameworks of their SIB patients so that they can be in a better place to have a curb the continuation of this condition. Such efforts I have learnt are crucial in making the patient understand that there are other methods of addressing the SIB condition rather than keeping emotions to themselves and letting it pile up on them (Askew & Byrne, 2009). In addition to having a better understanding of the cognitive needs of the patient, I have learnt that it is also important to have internet forums which provide crucial support to teenagers who are suffering from this condition. Engaging in individual and group therapeutic sessions is an important step towards achieving an active participation in the healing process. Other interventions like writing down journals and talking out with a fellow patient and care providers are essential methods that serve the therapeutic process.
Part 3
The implications that these cases studies have had on my role as an advanced nurse practitioner are based on the fact there is the need to create more awareness about this condition and actively involve myself in trying to solve it and provide the required care. As such, I will play an active role in health promotion, assessing the extent of the injury and also create a good relationship with the patient with the objectives of trying to realize desirable outcomes on the side of the patient. These roles are discussed below.
1. In my nursing practice as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner , I will actively involve myself in coming up with effective strategies aimed at forming a collaborative, collegial and personal relationship with SIB patients under my care with the intentions of improving the therapeutic goal of addressing the condition (Saunders et al., 2012). I will utilize this objective as a way of negotiating the outcomes expected of the required care and also in building trust with my patients. I will employ therapeutic communication as a way of minimizing emotional distress as a method of achieving behavioral change.
2. Secondly, I will make use of self-injury assessment instruments with the objectives of having a thorough understanding of the possible threats from the condition in addition to evaluating the motivations that may push an individual into the practice. As such, I will make use of questionnaire assessments like Deliberate Self Harm inventory and the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (Saunders et al., 2012). These tools are significant in gaining valuable information about the physical and mental status of my patients thus providing the most effective way to solve this problem.
3. Finally, I will also be at the forefront in creating health awareness programs which will be aimed at making the community aware of the condition and the possible avenues that such communities can use to solve this problem. As such, I will be organizing workshops and seminars in community social halls with the objectives of bringing people - both teenagers and their parents- together so that together we can learn about this condition and the available interventions to it (Saunders et al., 2012). Such effort will be directed at having patients with SIB to come out of care provision center with desirable outcomes and also for myself satisfaction purposes.
References
Askew, M., & Byrne, M. W. (2009). Biopsychosocial Approach to Treating Self‐Injurious Behaviors: An Adolescent Case Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 22(3), 115-119.
Saunders, K. E., Hawton, K., Fortune, S., & Farrell, S. (2012). Attitudes and knowledge of clinical staff regarding people who self-harm: a systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 139(3), 205-216.
Walsh, B. W. (2012). Treating self-injury: A practical guide. Guilford Press.
