Assessing and Treating Adult and Geriatric Clients with Mood Disorders Case Study:An Elderly Hispanic Man with Major Depressive Disorder

Assessing and Treating Adult and Geriatric Clients with Mood Disorders Introduction Depression, or major depressive disorder, is a psychological illness characterized by unhappiness, separation from friends and members of the family, and despair that impact the cognitive capacity of an individual, and the normal life of an individual. The disorder can impair the daily life of an individual and can trigger suicidal thoughts. Depression is not similar to sadness, sorrow or loneliness that arise from a difficult life encounter, the demise of a friend or family member (Setiawan et al., 2018). In the year 2016, it was established that an estimated 16.1 million grown-ups in the United States aged 18 and above, or 6.7% of the grow-up populace suffered one or more episode of major depression, or manifested symptoms of depression, in the previous year, and thus making depression among commonly experienced mental illness in the U.S. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). Individuals of all ages, racial backgrounds, and socioeconomic class are vulnerable to depression. According to the NIMH, cases of depression are twice in women as compared to men. Individuals suffering from depression portray an array of manifestations, though the most commonly experienced include feelings of unhappiness, reduced interest or desire to take part in routine activities. In case depression is not attended to, it can negatively impact the emotional function of an individual which is translated into the overall stress in the patient. This assignment will assess a Hispanic male patient who presents at the care unit for mental healthcare with complaints of major depression. After the assessment, the care provider will prescribe medications based on three treatment decisions. The patient is aged 32. He states that his desire to participate in doing routine activities has reduced. Also, the patient says that his weight has increased by 15 pounds over the past 8 weeks, and he finds it difficult falling asleep