Theories and Therapies in Mental Health Nursing

Healthcare professionals can use theories to understand human development and behavior. Theories can also provide a framework for planning individualized care for patients and to guide the application of therapies to treat individuals with mental health disorders.

Now, an early developmental theory about human behavior was developed by Sigmund Freud, called psychoanalytic theory. This theory is based on the idea that a person’s behaviors are influenced by their unconscious thoughts. Freud also developed the theory of psychosexual development, comprised of 5 stages from infancy to adulthood that explains how emotional disturbances are rooted in failure to progress through each stage.

For example, a child aged 0 to 1 year is in the oral stage. During this stage, an infant finds pleasure and satisfaction through feeding and sucking. The child also begins to recognize their parent or caregiver as separate from themselves, and any disruption in the availability of the parent or caregiver could impair the child’s development, resulting in maladaptive behaviors later in life.

Other developmental theories propose alternate ways to explain human development. Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development, which looks at how children develop their thinking and make sense of their world. According to Piaget, children's development occurs in four distinct stages from birth to age 15. For example, during the concrete operations stage from age 8 to 11, children develop an understanding of the world in terms of words, numbers, and time. They also begin to use logic to understand principles like cause and effect, as well as size and difference; which allows the development of skills like arranging their toys according to their common or different characteristics, like color or shape. A learning disability or mental health disorder may be present if a child does not progress through the stages of cognitive development as expected.

Another developmental theory is Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development which focuses on aspects of human development, such as personality, thinking, and behavior. Erikson described eight stages, from infancy to adulthood, comprised of opposing conflicts that must be resolved for successful development to occur.

For example, in the third stage, initiative versus guilt, which occurs between 3 to 6 years, preschoolers experience a desire to assert control over their environment and interactions with others. As they learn to initiate activities, plan goals, and successfully master tasks, they develop self-confidence and a sense of initiative. On the other hand, a lack of praise for the child’s efforts, harsh control, or being overly critical of mistakes or messiness can impair the development of initiative, resulting in a sense of guilt.