Walden University – NRNP 6665 Assignment: Assessing, Diagnosing, and Treating Adults With Mood Disorders
Walden University – NRNP 6665 Assignment: Assessing, Diagnosing, and Treating Adults With Mood Disorders
Walden University – NRNP 6665 Assignment: Assessing, Diagnosing, and Treating Adults With Mood Disorders
It is important for the PMHNP to have a comprehensive understanding of mood disorders in order to
assess and accurately formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan for patients presenting with these
disorders. Mood disorders may be diagnosed when a patient’s emotional state meets the diagnostic
criteria for severity, functional impact, and length of time. Those with a mood disorder may find that
their emotions interfere with work, relationships, or other parts of their lives that impact daily
functioning. Mood disorders may also lead to substance abuse or suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and
although they are not likely to go away on their own, they can be managed with an effective treatment
plan and understanding of how to manage symptoms.
In this Assignment you will assess, diagnose, and devise a treatment plan for a patient in a case study
who is presenting with a mood disorder.
To Prepare
Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider the insights they provide about assessing,
diagnosing, and treating mood disorders.
Review the Focused SOAP Note template, which you will use to complete this Assignment. There
is also a Focused SOAP Note Exemplar provided as a guide for Assignment expectations.
Review the video, Case Study: Petunia Park. You will use this case as the basis of this
Assignment. In this video, a Walden faculty member is assessing a mock patient. The patient will
be represented onscreen as an avatar.
Consider what history would be necessary to collect from this patient.
Consider what interview questions you would need to ask this patient.
The Assignment
Develop a Focused SOAP Note, including your differential diagnosis and critical-thinking process to
formulate a primary diagnosis. Incorporate the following into your responses in the template:
Subjective: What details did the patient provide regarding their chief complaint and
symptomatology to derive your differential diagnosis? What is the duration and severity of their
symptoms? How are their symptoms impacting their functioning in life?
Objective: What observations did you make during the psychiatric assessment?
Assessment: Discuss the patient’s mental status examination results. What were your
differential diagnoses? Provide a minimum of three possible diagnoses with supporting
evidence, listed in order from highest to lowest priority. Compare the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria
for each differential diagnosis and explain what DSM-5 criteria rules out the differential
diagnosis to find an accurate diagnosis. Explain the critical-thinking process that led you to the
primary diagnosis you selected. Include pertinent positives and pertinent negatives for the
specific patient case.
Plan: What is your plan for psychotherapy? What is your plan for treatment and management,
including alternative therapies? Include pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments,
alternative therapies, and follow-up parameters as well as a rationale for this treatment and
management plan. Also incorporate one health promotion activity and one patient education
strategy.
Reflection notes: What would you do differently with this client if you could conduct the session
again? Discuss what your next intervention would be if you were able to follow up with this
patient. Also include in your reflection a discussion related to legal/ethical considerations
(demonstrate critical thinking beyond confidentiality and consent for treatment!), health
promotion, and disease prevention that takes into consideration patient factors (such as age,
ethnic group, etc.), PMH, and other risk factors (e.g., socioeconomic, cultural background, etc.).
By Day 7 of Week 4
Submit your Focused SOAP Note.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first
initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from
this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document
you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my
paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4
To participate in this Assignment:
Week 4 Assignment
What’s Coming Up in Week 5?
Next week, you will explore mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents and the unique
approaches to assessment and treatment of these disorders in this population compared to treating
them in adults. In next week’s Assignment, you will prepare patient education materials for an assigned
disorder in which you will explain signs and symptoms, pharmacological and nonpharmacological
treatments, and community resources.
Photo Credit: [BrianAJackson]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images
Midterm Exam
Photo Credit: [Vergeles_Andrey]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images
You should also begin studying for your midterm exam, which is completed in Week 6. This will be a 100-
question, multiple-choice exam covering all topics in Week 1 through Week 6 of the course. The exams
in your MSN program are designed to test your knowledge in preparation for your certification exam
and to simulate the certification exam environment. Accordingly, no outside resources, including books,
notes, websites, or any other type of resource, may be used to help you complete the exams in your
courses.
Next Week
To go to the next week:
Week 5
GET PAPER HELP. PLACE AN ORDER FOR A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER Assignment: Assessing, Diagnosing, and Treating Adults With Mood Disorders NRNP 6665 – Walden University
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2015). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry (11th ed.).
Wolters Kluwer.
Chapter 8, “Mood Disorders”
Zakhari, R. (2020). The psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner certification review manual. Springer.
Chapter 11, “Mood Disorders”
Document: Focused SOAP Note Template
Document: Focused SOAP Note Exemplar
Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
CrashCourse. (2014, September 8). Depressive and bipolar disorders: Crash course psychology #30
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ZwMlHkWKDwM
Walden University. (2021). Case study: Petunia Park. Walden University Blackboard.
https://class.waldenu.edu
Accessible player
Medication Review
Review the FDA approved use of the following medicines related to treating mood disorders.
Depression Premenstrual
dysphoric disorder
Seasonal
affective
disorder (MDD
with Seasonal
Variation)
agomelatine lofepramine citalopram Bupropion HCL
amitriptyline
amoxapine
aripiprazole
(adjunct)
brexpiprazole
(adjunct)bupropion
citalopram
clomipramine
cyamemazine
desipramine
desvenlafaxine
dothiepindoxepin
duloxetine
escitalopram
fluoxetine
fluvoxamine
iloperidone
imipramine
isocarboxazid
ketamine
lithium (adjunct)
l-methylfolate (adjunct)
maprotiline
mianserin
milnacipran
mirtazapine
moclobemide
nefazodone
nortriptyline
paroxetine
phenelzine
protriptyline
quetiapine (adjunct)
reboxetine
selegiline
sertindole
sertraline
sulpiride
tianeptine
tranylcypromine
trazodone
trimipramine
venlafaxine
vilazodone
vortioxetine
desvenlafaxine
duloxetin
eescitalopram
fluoxetin
eparoxetine
pepexev
sarafe,
sertraline
venlafaxine
extended-
release
Bipolar depression Bipolar disorder (mixed
Mania/Depression
Bipolar
maintenance Mania
lithium (used with
lurasidone)
lurasidone
olanzapine-
fluoxetine
combination
(symbyax)
quetiapine
valproate
(divalproex) (used
with lurasidone)
aripiprazole
asenapine
carbamazepin
e
olanzapine
ziprasidone
aripiprazole
lamotrigine
lithium
olanzapine
aripipraz
ole
asenapin
e
carbamaz
epine
lithium
olanzapin
e
quetiapin
e
risperido
ne
valproate
(divalpro
ex)
ziprasido
ne