A middle-aged woman, age 46 years, comes in to meet with the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) RN with complaints of difficulty concentrating, low energy, forgetfulness, and poor sleep. She reports that her boss has written deficiency notices on her for difficulty with organization and failure to meet deadlines over the past 6 weeks. She is worried about losing her job. She tells you that recently she has been under a great deal of stress because her 25-year-old son recently moved back home with his 3-year-old twins. The client's son recently lost his job and is taking college class in criminal justice in the evenings with the hope of being hired as a police officer. He was awarded full-time custody of his twins by family court 3 months ago because his wife had been physically abusive of the twins. The transition in living arrangements has been a difficult adjustment for everyone. Although the client struggles with guilt for not knowing about the child abuse, she is also having difficulty with the fact that the twins miss their mother. The client has been providing care for the twins in the evening while her son is at college, and she is also taking meals to her elderly father every night because he recently had a hip replacement. She is concerned about losing her job because her family needs her income more than ever now with her son and the twins to provide for, too.
Identify the client's various risk factors for developing a serious mental health problem.
Given the client's reported symptoms, what mental illness is of concern? How might the nurse offer assistance to the client?