PMH-BC flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Peplau's orientation phase

The first phase of the nurse-client relationship, in which the nurse and client meet, establish trust, clarify expectations, and identify the client's problem and goals.

Transference versus countertransference

Transference is the client's projection of past relationship feelings onto the nurse; countertransference is the nurse's emotional reaction to the client that can distort care.

Therapeutic use of self

The deliberate use of the nurse's personality, communication, and relationship skills as a planned intervention to promote client insight, coping, and growth.

Erikson identity versus role confusion

The psychosocial crisis of adolescence, resolved by forming a coherent sense of self; failure results in uncertainty about identity and social role.

Mental status examination domains

A structured assessment covering appearance, behavior, speech, mood, affect, thought process and content, perception, cognition, insight, and judgment.

PHQ-9 scoring thresholds

A nine-item depression screen scored 0-27; cut points of 5, 10, 15, and 20 indicate mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression.

Delirium versus dementia

Delirium is acute, fluctuating, and marked by inattention; dementia is chronic and progressive with attention relatively preserved early in the course.

CAGE screening questions

Four yes/no items about cutting down, annoyance at criticism, guilt about drinking, and morning eye-opener drinking; two affirmative answers suggest alcohol misuse.

Clozapine ANC monitoring

Absolute neutrophil count is checked weekly for six months, then every two weeks for six months, then every four weeks to detect neutropenia.

Serotonin syndrome features

A toxidrome of mental status change, autonomic instability, and neuromuscular hyperactivity such as clonus and hyperreflexia from serotonergic excess.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome

A life-threatening reaction to dopamine antagonists with rigidity, hyperthermia, autonomic instability, and elevated creatine kinase requiring drug discontinuation.

Lithium therapeutic range

Serum lithium between 0.6 and 1.2 mEq/L is therapeutic; levels above 1.5 mEq/L raise toxicity risk and 2.0 mEq/L or higher is severe.

Tardive dyskinesia

Involuntary choreoathetoid movements, often of the face and tongue, emerging after prolonged dopamine antagonist exposure and potentially irreversible.

MAOI tyramine interaction

Combining monoamine oxidase inhibitors with high-tyramine foods can precipitate a hypertensive crisis with severe headache, hypertension, and arrhythmia.

Cognitive behavioral therapy core

A structured therapy targeting distorted thoughts and reinforcing behaviors using thought records, behavioral experiments, and homework to reduce symptoms.

DBT four skill modules

Dialectical behavior therapy teaches mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness while balancing acceptance with change.

Working alliance components

The therapeutic alliance comprises agreement on goals, agreement on tasks, and an emotional bond between client and clinician.

Therapeutic communication blocks

Responses such as false reassurance, giving advice, and changing the subject that shut down client disclosure and should be avoided.

Restraint time limits for adults

Adult restraint or seclusion orders are limited to four hours, with face-to-face evaluation by a licensed practitioner within one hour of initiation.

Delirium tremens timing

Alcohol withdrawal delirium typically emerges 48 to 96 hours after the last drink, with seizures, hallucinations, and autonomic instability.

Naloxone reversal

An opioid antagonist given for respiratory depression and unresponsiveness with pinpoint pupils; repeat dosing may be needed due to its short duration.

Negative symptoms of psychosis

Deficits such as flat affect, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, and social withdrawal that reflect loss of normal function rather than excess.

Crisis definition

A time-limited state of disequilibrium in which usual coping fails, requiring intervention aimed at restoring equilibrium rather than solving all problems.

Lethal means counseling

A suicide-prevention intervention that identifies and secures or removes highly lethal methods such as firearms and stockpiled medications from the client's environment.

Trauma-informed care principles

Care grounded in safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural humility, recognizing the widespread impact of trauma.

Postvention

Support and follow-up provided to survivors and communities after a suicide, intended to reduce contagion and complicated grief.

Assertive community treatment

A team-based model with low caseloads and around-the-clock availability delivering integrated treatment, rehabilitation, and support in the community for high-utilization clients.

Individual placement and support

An evidence-based supported employment model using rapid competitive job placement and ongoing support without lengthy pre-employment training requirements.

Recovery model principles

A framework emphasizing hope, self-determination, peer support, and meaningful community roles rather than symptom elimination as the primary goal.

Involuntary commitment criteria

Legal detention requiring a mental disorder plus danger to self or others or grave disability, defined and governed by state statute.

Tarasoff duty to warn

A legal duty permitting or requiring clinicians to warn or protect an identifiable third party threatened with serious harm by a client.

PDSA improvement cycle

Plan-Do-Study-Act is a rapid-cycle method for testing small changes, studying results, and refining before spreading an improvement.

PICO question format

A structured clinical question specifying the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome to guide an evidence search.