What Kinds of Methods Are Used In Mental Health Treatment?
In the post-pandemic era, mental health treatment has become paramount. Some methods of mental health treatment help us recover from mental illness and injury. But other methods work a bit more proactively. If we maintain what we achieve in mental health treatment, we can protect ourselves from future strain. Different mental health treatment options provide various results. Each person needs a specific form of treatment to help them.
Recovery In Tune shall explore the following topics:
- The importance of mental health treatment options
- Some examples of mental health treatment
- When a person should seek mental wellness treatment
- Benefits of proper mental wellness
- How to find mental health treatment for yourself or someone else
The Importance of Mental Health Treatment Options
Socially, we treat the mind and body differently. Picture a person in a car accident. Conventional wisdom tells that person to get medical help. They need to be triaged. A doctor needs to check them for injuries and take action. This person might need surgery, medication, and a cast.
Nobody demeans such a person. There’s no stigma for physical injuries such as these. No one would say, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” Or, “This is all in your head.” But it’s not the same with the mind. Mental illnesses do have a stigma. People who suffer from mental ailments or injuries might feel shame about their predicament. Emotions like this can prevent people from seeking mental health treatment.
Some Examples of Mental Health Treatment
Refer again to the mind/body analogy. Particular physical symptoms require different kinds of responses. Also, sometimes recovery means rehabilitation. A person might have to relearn to use a specific part of their body. They may have to have help performing simple tasks. We must offer similar treatment to those enduring mental injuries.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) helps us investigate our thoughts and predispositions. With DBT, we learn to dialogue with our thoughts to understand where they come from. Dialectical behavior therapy highlights interpersonal skills in 4 key areas:
- Mindfulness: awareness of the content of one’s thinking
- Distress tolerance: the ability to withstand (or overcome) obstacles in one’s life
- Emotional regulation: setting a baseline for one’s feelings
- Interpersonal effectiveness: defining and expressing what one wants and needs
A Note on Trauma
People who suffer from substance abuse tend to also suffer from trauma. Trauma is a certain kind of stressor beyond what a person can process. Traumatic events freeze part of the mind. They leave people with a sense of feeling “stuck” when the event happened. Many feel that they cannot move forward.
Examples of traumatic events include (but are not limited to):
- Rape/sexual assault
- Adverse childhood experiences
- Violent crimes
- Natural disasters/accidents
- Combat
Trauma-Informed Care
Substance abuse treatment must take traumatic events into account. For too long, even the best recovery programs did not incorporate the treatment of trauma. Even treatment methods that address mental health must specifically treat trauma. Trauma-informed care (TIC) exists for that purpose. In TIC, clinicians operate as though clients have endured traumatic events.
If you have suffered a traumatic event, do not feel alone. Please do not isolate yourself. Remember that you have value and worth. No matter what has happened to you, you can find a way forward. Do not allow the actions of others, or the circumstances of life, define you. The more open you become in treatment, the deeper your healing.
MOUD/MAT
People suffering from mental illnesses may also struggle with substance use disorder. Therefore, proper mental health treatment may require dual diagnosis treatment. As an example, consider someone diagnosed with depression who struggles with opioid use disorder (OUD).
Often, people struggling with OUD can receive medication to help with cravings. Opioids relieve pain. One can obtain opioids via a prescription. Or, they might purchase them on the street.
Common opioids include:
- Heroin
- Oxycodone
- Hydrocodone
- Fentanyl
- Opium
A person suffering from OUD can get help. We call this option medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). You might also see the term medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Medications used in MOUD/MAT include:
- Suboxone
- Naltrexone
- Methadone
- Buprenorphine
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Often, humans take our thoughts for granted. We just about let them take over our minds. With cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), we learn to think about our thoughts. In a way, we audit our thoughts. We examine them for truth and falsehood. In so doing, we can distance our thoughts from our identities. One does not have to allow one’s thoughts to define one.
How To Find Mental Health Treatment For Yourself Or Someone Else
Thank you for reading this far. Consider this an important first step in the road to recovery. Perhaps you came to this page seeking help for yourself. If not you, likely someone you love. Do not fret. Hope exists. Change is possible.
If you or someone you love struggles with a mental illness, call Recovery In Tune today. As an alternative, fill out our contact form.