Clients experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ...

[yoooooman]

Clients experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the World Trade Tower bombing work with nurses in the medical center. An approach that is appropriate and should be incorporated into the plan of care is:
 
  1. Suppression of anxiety-producing memories
  2. Reinforcement that the PTSD is short term
  3. Promotion of relaxation strategies
  4. Focus on physical needs

Question 2

A client is experiencing job-related stress. The nurse is working with the client in an outpatient health care setting. The nurse believes this client is dissociated as a result of observing the client:
 
  1. Avoid discussion of job problems
  2. Act like another colleague on the job
  3. Experience chronic headaches and stomach aches
  4. Sit quietly and not interacting with any of the staff

[SamMuagrove]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: 3
Teaching the client relaxation strategies can help reduce the stress of anxiety-provoking thoughts and events, as seen in PTSD, and reinforces an adaptive coping strategy. Suppression would be a maladaptive coping mechanism. PSTD persists longer than 1 month. The focus should be on de-veloping adaptive coping mechanisms and lowering the individual's anxiety. The focus is not on physical needs for the client who is experiencing PTSD.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: 4
Dissociation is experiencing a subjective sense of numbing and a reduced awareness of one's surroundings. The client who is sitting quietly and not interacting with any of the staff may be displaying dissociation. The client who avoids discussion of the problem may be using denial as an ego-defense mechanism. The client who acts like another colleague on the job is using identi-fication as an ego-defense mechanism. The client who experiences headaches and stomach aches is using the ego-defense mechanism of conversion.

[yoooooman]

Gracias!

[phuda]

Thanks for the timely response, appreciate it