How to treat mental health conditions ?
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Counseling provided by trained professionals can make a profound impact on the lives of individuals, families and communities. This service helps people navigate difficult life situations, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disasters, school stress and the loss of a job. It provides the tools and insights to manage mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. Ultimately, counseling empowers people to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.
Counseling has been important seemingly since the dawn of society. From parents and grandparents advising other family members to community leaders providing guidance to residents, counseling seems to have always been a natural part of the human experience. Counseling is a skilled and principled use of relationships to facilitate self-knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources.
The overall aim is to provide an opportunity to work towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. Counseling relationships will vary according to need but may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insights and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others. Marriage problems, infidelity, divorce, or other relationship issues. Sexual problems. Stress and anxiety. Addictions and compulsions. Grief, loss, or bereavement. Anger. Career choice. Parenting or family problems. Phobias. Insomnia. Chronic pain or illness. Domestic violence or abuse. Eating disorders. Counseling and guidance services have become an integral part of the education system; the field of education has been considered as such in which students as well as other individuals do require counseling and guidance from therapists, professionals, experts, teachers, guides and mentors. The various areas in which students would require counseling and guidance sessions would include career counseling, counseling related to problems such as stress, trauma or depression, counseling related to learning problems such as when students are not able to understand the concept or they feel frustrated about a particular area such as mathematics or science or if they do not feel comfortable in working with technology then they feel apprehensive and need help; another major area in which school or college students may require counseling sessions are related to problems such as when they get addicted to drugs or consumption of alcohol, students who are slow learners or face problems such as dyslexia may also require counseling and they may also require career counseling in choosing the right field. The major aim and objective of counseling and guidance sessions are to analyze the problems, identify the strengths and weaknesses and taking appropriate measures in order to provide solutions to those problems. Counselors and guides are professionally qualified and trained personnel who are meant to make the client understand himself and indoctrinate the feelings of admiration for himself; Finally, it can be stated that counselors make provision of effective knowledge in order to make the client understand himself, realize the strengths and weaknesses and help him live a fulfilling life.
Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
What Is Psychiatry?
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.
People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing "voices." Or they may be more long-term, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiousness that never seem to lift or problems functioning, causing everyday life to feel distorted or out of control.
Diagnosing Patients
Because they are physicians, psychiatrists can order or perform a full range of medical laboratory and psychological tests which, combined with discussions with patients, help provide a picture of a patient's physical and mental state. Their education and clinical training equip them to understand the complex relationship between emotional and other medical illnesses and the relationships with genetics and family history, to evaluate medical and psychological data, to make a diagnosis, and to work with patients to develop treatment plans.
Specific diagnoses are based on criteria established in APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5), which contains descriptions, symptoms and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders.
What Treatments Do Psychiatrists Use?
Psychiatrists use a variety of treatments – including various forms of psychotherapy, medications, psychosocial interventions and other treatments (such as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT), depending on the needs of each patient.
Psychotherapy, sometimes called talk therapy, is a treatment that involves a talking relationship between a therapist and patient. It can be used to treat a broad variety of mental disorders and emotional difficulties. The goal of psychotherapy is to eliminate or control disabling or troubling symptoms so the patient can function better. Depending on the extent of the problem, treatment may take just a few sessions over a week or two or may take many sessions over a period of years. Psychotherapy can be done individually, as a couple, with a family, or in a group.
There are many forms of psychotherapy. There are psychotherapies that help patients change behaviors or thought patterns, psychotherapies that help patients explore the effect of past relationships and experiences on present behaviors, and psychotherapies that are tailored to help solve other problems in specific ways. Cognitive behavior therapy is a goal-oriented therapy focusing on problem solving. Psychoanalysis is an intensive form of individual psychotherapy which requires frequent sessions over several years.
Most medications are used by psychiatrists in much the same way that medications are used to treat high blood pressure or diabetes. After completing thorough evaluations, psychiatrists can prescribe medications to help treat mental disorders. Psychiatric medications can help correct imbalances in brain chemistry that are thought to be involved in some mental disorders. Patients on long-term medication treatment will need to meet with their psychiatrist periodically to monitor the effectiveness of the medication and any potential side effects.
Class of Medications
- Antidepressants – used to treat depression, panic disorder, PTSD, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder and eating disorders.
- Antipsychotic medications – used to treat psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.
- Sedatives and anxiolytics – used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
- Hypnotics – used to induce and maintain sleep.
- Mood stabilizers – used to treat bipolar disorder.
- Stimulants – used to treat ADHD.
Psychiatrists often prescribe medications in combination with psychotherapy.
Some psychiatrists also complete additional specialized training after their four years of general psychiatry training. They may become certified in:
- Child and adolescent psychiatry
- Geriatric psychiatry
- Forensic (legal) psychiatry
- Addiction psychiatry
- Pain medicine
- Psychosomatic (mind and body) medicine
- Sleep medicine
Some psychiatrists choose additional training in psychoanalysis or in psychiatric research.
Where Do Psychiatrists Work?
Psychiatrists work in a variety of settings, including private practices, clinics, general and psychiatric hospitals, university medical centers, community agencies, courts and prisons, nursing homes, industry, government, military settings, rehabilitation programs, emergency rooms, hospice programs, and many other places. About half of the psychiatrists in the U.S. maintain private practices and many psychiatrists work in multiple settings.