Selecting the proper professional for mental health
 and
understanding therapy options

 

Mental health problems can come from a variety of things. Some as simple as not understanding things. Because of that people can not find closure. Mental health problems can be caused by brain damage from substance abuse. If there is physical damage from substance then the likelihood of requiring long term medication is high. Alzheimer's is a condition related to physical damage but not necessarily caused by substance abuse. The cause is thought to be genetic.

There is nothing to be ashamed about if you have a mental health problem, however it is not discussed openly in almost every society. In some societies they even deny it exists. It does not matter where you live or who you are, seeking help is your right.

When a person feels they have issues that require the help of a professional they often don't understand what type of professional is best for them or how to select one. There is a variety to choose from. Each profession has it's own strengths and weaknesses. The reason this web page exists is to help people seeking help decide what is best for them or someone they care about who may not be able to decide on their own. This is also to help you decide if medication is the best course of action. At the moment medication is greatly over prescribed. 

The types of help covered in this page are:

Group talk therapy and support groups.

Talk therapy counseling.

Psychotherapy.

Psychiatry.

Hypnotherapy.

To best understand mental health it must first be broken down in to levels of severity. The reason for this is to help you decide what help is best. So very simply there is mild, moderate, and severe. Each level has it's own symptoms and possible causes.

 

Mild

Symptoms can include any or all of the following:

Being depressed at certain times of the day but not all day.

Being upset about a death or the end of a relationship.

Concern about employment or self health.

Difficulty or the need to rely on others to avoid relapse of a previous addiction to a substance.

 

Moderate

Symptoms can include any or all of the following:

Being upset about a death or the end of a relationship.

Concern about employment or self health.

Difficulty or the need to rely on others to avoid relapse of a previous addiction to a substance.

Being depressed 24 hours a day for more than a month.

Fear of not being able to cope with life.

Thoughts of harming yourself including suicide.

Lack of ability to perform tasks at home or work.

Not bathing or eating regularly.

Inability to remain focused on anything other than your problems.

Lethargy.

Fatigue.

Non restorative sleep.

 

Severe

Symptoms include any or all of the following:

Inability to recognize there is a mental health problem.

Inability to distinguish between hallucinations and reality.

Being depressed 24 hours a day for more than a month.

Fear of not being able to cope with life and taking what may be viewed as unusual actions.

Thoughts of harming yourself or others including suicide.

Lack of ability to perform tasks at home or work.
 
Inability to hold employment.

Unprovoked aggression.

Not bathing or eating regularly.

Inability to remain focused on anything other than your problems.

Lethargy.

Fatigue.

Non restorative sleep.

Inability to socialize.


Group talk therapy and support groups. 

Group therapy provides support from people who are experiencing the same thing. This is a good choice of you need or want to be able to pickup the phone and call someone at anytime if you need some support. The recovery process is very slow with this method but the costs can be from free and up. You need to be comfortable in a group setting and willing to discuss things about yourself openly. The moderator of a group may only require minimal professional training as that the therapy comes from talking about your problems and accepting them. Many people can get the same benefits by simply talking to a good friend who has an available ear and shoulder for you. From time to time a more skilled health care provider may suggest you join a group if they feel it is appropriate for you.

Talk therapy counseling.

Talk therapy and counseling can be provided in a number of places. Some communities have social workers who will work with you but many times they have huge case loads and the time you can spend with them may be limited. There are also some counseling services that you can go to for a modest to moderate fee. The mental health provider will have some training to meet the local community guidelines. This is the same as group talk therapy except it is one on one and you don't need to talk about things openly in a public setting. This is a good choice for people who just need to get some ideas to work with to resolve problems. This is also good for people who just are unsure about their own decision making process, and or breaking new ground. Improvement is slow in most cases.  <>
 

Psychotherapy.

This is an effective form of therapy and considered one of the mainstays. The Psychologist is a highly trained professional in the mental health field. They are equipped to handle most cases with the exception of people who require medication. The reason being is they can't prescribe medication. However most if not all psychologists work with one or more psychiatrists. They can always request the psychiatrist evaluate and prescribe medication if needed.  The fees for psychotherapy are high, and the duration of the therapy can be several months or longer.
 

Psychiatry.

This person is a medical doctor that specializes in mental health. They are qualified for all levels of mental health. People who have severe mental health problems should see help from a psychiatrist. The need for medication to supplement therapy is often the case for severe mental health problems. One of the issues is psychiatrists have been encouraged by drug companies to prescribe medication for people who do not have severe mental health problems. This is done as a cost savings measure for insurance companies as psychiatrist fees are the highest in the mental health field.
 

Hypnotherapy.

This approach is the only subconscious approach to mental health. This is also the newest type of provider in mental health. As Hypnotherapy covers a very broad area of applications, it is necessary to inquire if the hypnotherapist is qualified to work in the area of mental health. The educational requirements for a hypnotherapist differ greatly too. Although the end result is the same, the training and education are geared to understanding the subconscious and not necessarily the conscious. Think of it like a mason verses a carpenter. Both build buildings but the methods are different. All that is required is a general understanding of the other methods for carpenters and masons to interact. All and all hypnotherapy is about the same as psychotherapy with two exceptions. The duration of therapy in most cases is only a fraction of psychotherapy, and the fees are often less. As with hypnotherapist they too have access to psychiatrists. Psychiatrists and psychologist sometimes elect to send their most difficult cases to a Hypnotherapist because hypnotherapy is vastly more powerful. Hypnotherapy also produces endorphins  naturally. Endorphins are the feel good hormone. In that respect hypnotherapy is naturally better than other therapies for dealing with depression. Other therapies would require medication to achieve the same effect artificially. More on how hypnotherapy works here.

How to select the proper professional

Profession	Mild	Moderate	Severe
Group Talk Therapy	Yes	No	No
Talk Therapy	Yes	No	No
Psychotherapy	Yes	Yes	Note 1
Psychiatry	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hypnotherapy	Yes	Yes	Note 1

Note 1: Only when working in conjunction with a Psychiatrist.  Meaning seek help with a Psychiatrist first and let them refer you if they feel it is appropriate.

There is a special subgroup of professionals who deal with substance abuse. As each substance has a different effect on the brain and body, they are trained to understand and deal with the problems that people in recovery experience.
 

Medication has been used successfully to eliminate the symptoms of mental illness, however it does nothing for the cause. Medication was originally developed for short term therapy of six months or less. It was meant to assist when the affected person was overwhelmed. 

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past twenty years you will have noticed that the quality of health care is greatly controlled by insurance companies. Dispensing of medication is no exception. The cost of medication for mental health is a fraction of the hourly fees top end mental health care providers charge. That even includes the consideration that insurance companies pay less than the full fees to doctors. Many times insurance companies pay less than 80% of the doctor fees. For mental health, insurance companies encourage doctors to medicate to eliminate the symptoms. As a result in the USA 80% of the people on medication for mental health do not need to be.
 
There are situations that are long lasting as well as short term. Medication was originally intended to help people over a rough spot in the road. Once past that a more normal life could resume. A good example is seasonal depression. It is cause by reduced daylight in the winter months. Once longer days return the depression dissipates on its own. In a case like that medication or light therapy would be appropriate during the winter months. Medication could also be used to stabilize a person with severe mental health and bring them down to moderate or mild levels to better work with a professional. Once the underlying causes are dealt with the medication could be eliminated from therapy.



First you need to understand as a rule doctors will not tell you about the side effects or withdrawal symptoms from some medications. The reason for that is it only adds to the mental health problem. Conventional thinking is it can be dealt with later once the primary issue is resolved. There are some medications that have been widely publicized as causing violent behavior that is totally out of nature of the person taking it. One such medication is Prozac.

Once you think about getting off antidepressants you may discover you can not. Some rival Heroin with withdrawal symptoms. Also your brain has become accustom to being stimulated artificially into producing the chemicals that are associated with feeling good. When the medication is stopped the brain will wait for the next dosage and allow the level of chemicals to drop to a point where depression reoccurs. After a while the brain will get the cue that it needs to produce the chemicals without stimulation and start on its own. It is much like pushing a glider off a cliff. The glider must fall to pick up enough speed before the wings can create lift. How far the glider falls can vary from person to person. So combining the return of depression and the undesirable physical symptoms, getting off antidepressants can be a significant challenge. Many just opt to continue.

Please read about this study published February 26, 2008 on the effectiveness of antidepressants.

Mental health medication affects higher brain function and perception. It does not allow you to get too excited or too depressed. In short it makes your life vanilla. People on antidepressant medications are disqualified from some jobs because they impair judgment. The list includes engineers, commercial pilots, and many aerospace jobs. Even the legal system with jobs like lawyers and judges. In short any job that requires you to be at the top of your game because it effects the lives of others. Last but not least it has negative effects on your sex life.

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