Psychological Assessment of the Adolescent with Cancer

Abstract

Pediatric oncology nurses are often faced with the difficult task of assessing the psychological symptoms of adolescents with cancer and determining when referral to a mental health specialist is needed. Such professionals are called upon to determine whether a teenager's difficulties reflect transient turmoil associated with adaptation to the illness which would respond to support and reassurance, or whether psychological disturbance is present which demands more intensive intervention. In making this decision, the health provider must carry out an evaluation which takes into account the adolescent's special psychological concerns as well as the nature of the presenting symptoms. This paper presents a conceptual framework to be used by the nurse clinician in evaluating the psychological functioning of adolescents with cancer.

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