Mental health care needs are on the rise with more and more people suffering in silence. Depression is one form of mental health care that people tend to ignore because of the stigma associated with this type diagnosis. There are many causes of depression including the death of a family member, break up of a marriage, and failing health. Many people see this condition as a weakness that can be prevented but this is far from the truth.
Depression is a chemical imbalance which causes a person to feel blue and down trodden. If left untreated it can lead to thoughts of suicide. Many people are good at hiding their feelings because they don’t want the public to know they are ill. People who suffer from depression often feel worthless and they think nobody cares about them. Some people will begin spending more and more time in bed sleeping and they may experience a loss of appetite. Mental health care intervention can be a big help towards restoring normal day to day functions.
The Need For Understanding
People who suffer from mental health problems have an additional need for compassion and understanding. The stigma of mental health care is a big part of the problem of escalating mental health illness cases. Mental health workers are looked upon as “shrinks” and most people will try to avoid them. The public needs to be educated about mental health and the needed care that goes with it. Offering understanding is the first priority in getting help for that friend or loved one. Showing that person you understand they are ill and not “crazy” is an important step. Offering support can go a long way towards helping that person heal.
Seeking Help
If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental illness it is important to understand that there is help available. Mental health care can provide emotional support and help with understanding and treatment. Counseling can help the patient explore the reasons for their feelings and get those feelings out in the open. Once those feelings are faced head on there is a real hope of healing.
Some people will need the added support of anti-depressants to help them get back on their feet. Often these drugs can be taken on a temporary basis. With the support of counseling and anti-depressants the patient can return to a normal life much sooner than they expect. Once people approach mental health care as being an illness instead of a stigma they can begin the healing process without having to worry how other people think.
Archive for the ‘counseling’ Category
The Increasing Need For Mental Health Care
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010When Should You Seek Marriage Counseling?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Most of us have a certain idea about what marriage counseling is all about – we usually always think of it as a modern idea, having grown out of the increase in divorces over the past years. Getting marriage counseling to most people would seem to indicate that the marriage is in some real trouble, and that getting counseling is a sort of last ditch effort to save it from disaster or divorce.
It is very unfortunate that we have developed this incorrent association. In the olden days, marriage counseling was not called marriage counseling – but it was still widely practiced, and usually occured before the actual marriage took place. Almost all religions, for example, have developed a sort of pre-marital counseling practice that is designed to help the couple develop clear and honest communication with each other and to be crystal clear about their intentions and goals with regard to the marriage. In modern marriage counseling, we do some of the same things – but they only usually happen after the marriage has begun to deteriorate and the problems have become worse.
The best time to actually start marriage counseling is early on – preferably before you even get married, or very early in the marriage, especially if either of you have some indication that you and your partner may need to improve on your communication skills. Communication breakdown is the most common reason for failure in marriages and relationships. Unfortunately, we also have created a negative association with the idea of marriage counseling.
Many people are afraid that if they bring up the subject up, it will be interpreted by others in the wrong way. This is a common mistake. Recognising the need to improve a relationship or marriage, or to work on better communication, should not be taken to mean that the marriage is headed for disaster nor divorce. The simple fact is that marriage counselling is more effective when it is not used as a last ditch effort. It should be seen as something that can strenghthen the relationship and marriage and should be considered at the moment any problem starts to develop.
In fact, the one time that marriage counseling will not help is when one of the partners has already mentally or psychologically detatched himself from the partnership completely. At this point, individual counseling may be what is needed. In order for marriage counseling to be trully successful, both partners need to really be committed to working at it. They need to be there to enhance and improve the marriage rather than simply looking for a reason to leave it.
If you are at that point in your marriage, check the psychological association directory in your area for names our counselors. Another option is to ask around – ask friends, or your family doctor. Marriage counseling is not an easy or quick fix solution, but it can be a new beginning – and it is definitely worth your while. If you have trouble affording counseling, some communities have free or low cost counseling programs.
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Family Counseling Can Bring You Back Together
Monday, January 25th, 2010Everyone has a story about their family experience – some of them will make you laugh and fill you with a sense of warmth, some will make you cry and some will leave you completely outraged. However, regardless of your own family story or the family stories of others play out, there are going to be times when families struggle with everyday issues, with mental and physical health problems and any number of challenges that threaten to divide the family unit. In these cases, family counseling is often the answer.
Family counseling is all about helping families to come together and to function more effectively. Family counseling is a valuable asset for those families in which husband and wife are having issues with trust and yet both want to be sure that the kids are not negatively impacted by the situation. Likewise, family counseling is a great idea for those who are looking for answers that will help them to better come to terms with behavioral problems that the children have and that parents are having trouble knowing what the right course of action is.
Communication problems, blending families and making sure that strong relationships are build with step parents and step siblings along with relationship issues between parents: these issues – whether they exist independently or in combination – are often motivating factors for looking into family counseling. What most people who do pursue family counseling quickly discover is that they are in a position to better communicate and to find the words that will help them to describe what they are feeling. In addition, those who look into family counseling are likely to find that the environment fosters more than just communication.
With family counseling, each individual within the family is given the chance to really talk out what they are feeling, why they have certain insecurities and, at the same time, to explore their strengths. Family counseling is effective because it creates an environment in which each member of the family feels more comfortable and confident and is able to receive the support that they need from other members of the family.
Ultimately, while family counseling is something that can be beneficial after situations have become difficult to manage, sometimes family counseling is most effective at the earliest signs that there might be a problem. By looking into family counseling at the onset rather than waiting until the situation is out of control, families will find that they are able to improve communication, establish trust and to foster the types of relationships that they really want to have with one another.
No matter what a family’s experience has been, family counseling can help to provide the guidance necessary to build strong relationships. By making it possible for every member of the family to not only talk about their feelings and experiences but also to be heard, family counseling can bring families back together, can provide structure and can help to create the sort of family unit that most families crave but do not know how to establish. acp13243546ch
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Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Counselor? Which Mental Health Professional should I Choose? From Cary
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009You have finally decided you want to consult a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional, but how do you go about choosing which one will meet your unique needs? There are at least 5 different types of mental health treatment providers from which to choose.
Do not just consider the professional degree when picking a counselor or therapist. Do you want a male or female?
Do you want one who is an expert in marriage counseling? Individual counseling? Substance abuse treatment? Do you want a therapist who prescribes drugs?
How about one who can X Ray your personality by using tests? One who can administer hypnosis? Electroshock?
A good first step would be to consult with a healthcare professional who knows the answers to these questions. Call the psychology or psychiatry department at a university.
Talk to a psychology instructor at a local community college or contact the behavioral health unit in your local hospital or your community crisis line.
It is important to be familiar with the training, skills and treatment philosophy of the various types of professionals, and then match what you prefer with what a particular treatment provider has to offer.
Also, talk to the representative of an organization which is concerned with issues like yours i.e. marriage, anxiety, depression etc. Their opinions are invaluable, as they are in contact with many different patients and treatment providers who are concerned with the very same issues as you and they have first hand knowledge of the characteristics and qualities of different types of counselors and therapists.
Your 5 main choices of mental health treatment providers are: The marriage and family counselor, the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the professional mental health counselor and the clinical social worker.
The marriage and family counselor has one to two years of graduate training in counseling those with troubled marriages and family problems. He or she will have a masters degree and will likely have done an internship.
The advantage of using these professionals is that you are working with someone who has intense training in this one area of counseling. The disadvantage is that some insurance companies may not cover their services.
The psychologist holds a doctoral degree in psychology. Some consider him or her to be the most highly trained of mental health professionals. The psychologist has approximately 6 years of college training in the psychological sciences; 2 years of upper division in college and 3 to 4 years of post-graduate school.
A psychologist is trained to do counseling, psychotherapy, research and mental X Rays, better known as psychological testing. They practice marriage and family counseling and therapy to eliminate anxiety, depression as well as the entire range of psychological disorders.
The advantages of using a psychologist are that he is the most highly trained in psychological practice, is an expert in providing cutting edge treatment for diverse problems and uses psychological testing to provide revealing information about how your mind works.
Also, in many cases, he or she is a trained mental health researcher, meaning, in this case, the psychologist is trained not to just practice psychology, but also to contribute to it through research.
Another advantage is that their services are covered by almost all insurance companies who provide mental health coverage.
The clinical social worker and professional counselor provide counseling to eliminate family problems and troubles arising from depression, anxiety, agitation and other emotional disorders. They have from one to two years of post-college level training in counseling and mental health.
The social worker holds a masters degree in social work while the professional counselor holds one in counseling. They both must do an internship and pass a comprehensive examination to practice independently.
Psychiatrists have most of their training in medicine, chemistry and the biological sciences. Their central training in psychiatry and mental health is usually received in the 3 year residency in psychiatry.
They hold a doctoral degree in medicine or osteopathy and receive no substantive training in counseling, family therapy, marital therapy or psychological testing.
They are mainly used to prescribe medication and administer occasional electroshock treatments. Their services are covered by all health insurance companies.
As you can see, there is a wide variety of professionals available to treat emotional problems. The one crucial ingredient, however, is the quality of the rapport you have with your provider.
It is important to check educational credentials, experience and any history of disciplinary action by your state Board. But even after all these check-out, be sure you trust and have an excellent rapport with your therapist, or you might have to start all over again!
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