Types of Mental Health Therapies

Mental health holds an instrumental value to one’s well-being. That is why, the need for action on mental health issues is indisputable and urgent. Reach out to a seasoned psychiatrist for the right help. 

Mental health, which is integral to one’s well-being, is a basic human right. Crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development, it is determined by a complex interplay of individual, social and structural stresses and vulnerabilities. 

For effective and feasible strategies to promote, protect and restore mental health, book an online psychiatrist consultation with the best psychiatrist in Bangalore. Read ahead to know more.

Why is Mental Health Important?

Here are the reasons to maintain mental health – a state of mental well-being:

  • Enables individuals to cope with the stresses of life
  • Helps people realise their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to the community
  • Supports individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world 

What are Mental Health Therapies?

These therapies are psychological treatments for mental and emotional problems, such as stress, anxiety and depression. These therapies involve working with a trained therapist to better understand and cope with mental health problems. Notably, different types of therapies suit different people.

While many people experience meaningful symptom relief and improvement in their quality of life with professional care, the success rate of treatment varies. Some people may respond to treatment after a few weeks or months, while others can take longer. Also, treatment may take longer if people have more than one mental health disorder or if they suffer from other co-existing conditions.

Effective Mental Health Therapies

The following are some of the effective therapies that can help improve the symptoms of mental health problems:

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT: It focuses on identifying, understanding, and changing thinking and behavioural patterns. Also, it emphasises learning skills that are useful throughout life. Depending on the individual, the benefits of this therapy are usually visible in 12 to 16 weeks.
  • Exposure Therapy: Focused on reducing fear and anxiety responses, this therapy is particularly effective for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias. In this therapy, the patient is gradually exposed to a feared situation or object. Owing to this, he/she learns to become less sensitive over time. Virtual reality exposure therapy, or VRE, is the classic example of this therapy that uses interactive computer-generated simulations. 
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT: It uses strategies of acceptance and mindfulness along with commitment and behavioural change to cope with unwanted thoughts, feelings, and sensations. This therapy helps patients develop greater clarity about personal values.
  • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy or DBT: It combines cognitive-behavioural techniques with concepts from Eastern meditation. Involving individual and group sessions, the therapy helps learn mindfulness. Also, patients acquire skills for interpersonal effectiveness, tolerating distress, and regulating emotions.
  • Interpersonal Therapy or IPT: This is a short-term supportive psychotherapy, that addresses interpersonal issues in adults, adolescents, and older adults with depression. This therapy usually involves 12 to 16 one-hour-long weekly sessions. 
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing or EMDR: It can help patients heal from past life events that impact them in the present. The therapy uses bilateral stimulation and eye movements to unlock distressing memories.
  • I-CBT: Used primarily for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the treatment emphasises identifying core beliefs and underlying assumptions. This helps in reframing them in a more positive manner to facilitate recovery.
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS: It can help people who have depression that has not improved with medicines. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment, TMS creates a magnetic field to induce a small electric current in a specific part of the brain. 

By and large, addressing mental health needs is crucial for overall well-being. Many mental health disorders and psychosocial disabilities can be addressed with strategically-designed therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy, and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing.

To know more about such treatment options, connect with the best psychiatrist in Bangalore through an online psychiatrist consultation or an in-person visit.

Reference:

https://adaa.org/find-help/treatment-help/types-of-therapy

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/types-of-talking-therapies/

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9667BhDoARIsANnamQaKKpuQgNHrV66nFD1gCCis3r81N39_pVw6wtAj8MaJVjEE7PWgHloaAt76EALw_wcB

Author: Health Watch Minute

Health Watch Minute Provides the latest health information, from around the globe.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *