Gloria Oaks

Gloria Oaks is a 66-year-old divorced Caucasian woman who has lived alone for about two years. Although Gloria was reluctant to seek any help, her adult children have convinced her to come see you. Gloria has not cleaned her home or taken care of herself for months. Her son Jeremy and her friend Jeanne come with her to the first appointment.

Jeanne, Gloria’s only good friend, calls her every day. Friends since high school, Jeanne is no longer able to visit Gloria because there’s too much stuff in the house. Jeanne says Gloria’s problems really started after her parents and her younger brother were killed in a car crash during their senior year of high school. After Gloria’s family died, she lived with an aunt and uncle for a year before heading off to college. Gloria married after her first year of college and the couple soon had two children. Gloria and her husband divorced after 47 years of marriage.

Gloria continues to live in the family home. Jeremy states that he and his sister had tried to help her clean up a few times but their mother continues to bring more and more stuff into the house. He states he believes his mother is depressed, is not sleeping, and is starting to experience some health problems from not leaving the house.

In your initial post, select two of the following questions to answer from your perspective as her psychiatric nurse practitioner.

In your initial interview with Gloria, Jeremy, and Jeanne, what types of questions would be most important to ask?
Identify two assessment tools to use with Gloria. Provide a rationale.
Identify three of your most important safety concerns for Gloria. Provide a rationale.
Identify resources (including links) available in your own community to help Gloria.
If you were to offer Gloria psychotherapy, articulate a possible case formulation for working with her.