Treatment of Emotional Problems and Mental Disorders - Types of therapy

Emotional problems and mental illnesses can be treated in a variety of ways, including psychotherapy, medication, or physical treatments. Psychotherapy, or “talking therapy,” is an effective and commonly prescribed method of treatment for mild to moderate cases of emotional and mental disorders. In more severe cases, psychotherapy is used in combination with medication or physical treatments.

Psychotherapy

As noted above, psychotherapy applies to various forms of treatment that employ psychological methods designed to help people understand themselves. With this knowledge, or insight, a person learns how to handle life—with all its relationships and conflicts—in a happier and more socially responsible manner.

The best known form of psychotherapy is psychoanalysis , developed by Freud but modified by many others, which seeks to lift to the level of awareness of the individual's repressed subconscious feelings. The information about subconscious conflicts is explored and interpreted to explain the causes of the individual's emotional upsets.

Another form of psychotherapy is behavior therapy , treatment based on the belief that many types of behavior are learned. Instead of probing an individual's unconscious, as in psychoanalysis, a behavior therapist focuses on the individual's observable behavior and tries to help the individual control it. In a method called operant conditioning , behavior is controlled using a reinforcer , anything that increases the likelihood that a particular behavior will be repeated. Praise or gifts given for good behavior are common examples of reinforcers.

Cognitive therapy is another form of psychotherapy. Unlike behavior therapy, cognitive therapy is based on changing thoughts. Cognitive therapy involves helping people change the patterns of thinking responsible for their emotional distress. The change is made by monitoring negative or distorted thoughts, then correcting or replacing them with positive thoughts.

Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy treatment in which a group of people, usually ten or fewer, discuss their mental and emotional problems. The group is under the guidance of a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist By talking to one another about mutual problems and by interacting with one another emotionally under skillful guidance, people are often helped more quickly than when treated individually.

Psychodrama is a therapeutic technique in which an individual or members of a group create and act out situations based on their personal conflicts.

Play therapy is a type of treatment for young children who can more easily act out their problems through play activity, as opposed to discussing them. Play therapy may be a form of individual psychotherapy or group therapy. In both instances, the therapist observes the play activity.

Family problems can be treated with family therapy . Family members are sometimes able to discuss their problems of relating to each other within the context of a group better than they can on an individual basis with a therapist.

Medication

In the last half of the 20th century, the study of the relationship between biochemical processes of the brain and mental illness resulted in the development of psychiatric medication. Many people with mental illnesses have greatly benefitted from the use of these medications. However, many psychiatric drugs have side effects, some of which are severe, so close medical supervision is necessary while taking the drugs. With proper monitoring, psychiatric drugs can be a part of a safe, therapeutic approach to alleviating the negative effects of mental illness.

Depression is believed to be caused by low levels of neurotransmitters , chemicals of the nervous system. Antidepressant drugs , used to relieve the symptoms of depression, work by increasing the level of neurotransmitters present in the brain.

Antipsychotic drugs , sometimes called major tranquilizers, are used to relieve delusions, hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. Antipsychotic drugs work by blocking the neurotransmitter dopamine from completing its function in the brain.

Antianxiety drugs , sometimes called sedatives or minor tranquilizers, are used to relieve anxiety or tension. By suppressing the brain chemistry responsible for anxiety, these drugs provide a sense of relaxation. They may also act as a muscle relaxant, and alleviate mild insomnia.

Mood stabilizers , like lithium, are used to treat bipolar depression. It is not known how lithium alleviates the symptoms of bipolar disorder, but it is effective. The blood level of lithium in a person must be monitored carefully. If the level is too low, the medication will not be effective in stabilizing the person's mood, and if the level is too high, adverse side effects may result.

Physical Treatment

Electroconvulsive therapy (ETC) is a form of therapy in which regulated electric shocks are delivered to the brain to induce seizures. It is an effective treatment for severe depression, often providing relief much more quickly than psychiatric medication. Although psychiatric medication and psychotherapy are used much more frequently as treatments for depression, ETC is generally used in life-threatening situations or other circumstances where immediate relief from depression is needed.

Psychosurgery is another form of physical treatment. It involves physically altering the structure of the brain in an attempt to alleviate severe mental illness. Psychosurgery was widely used in 1950's. The use of psychosurgery has greatly diminished with increased knowledge of psychiatric illness and with the development of psychiatric drugs. Current pyschosurgery methods involve only microscopic alterations to the brain, and are only used in extreme cases of mental illness with a definite biological cause.

Options Available for the Mentally III

The last two decades have seen a number of changes in the facilities for treatment of mental disorders in the United States. The great majority of severely ill mental patients used to be cared for in county or state mental hospitals, many of which were crowded and able to offer custodial care but very little in the way of therapeutic programs. The picture has changed, however, and the extent and quality of care in these hospitals is expanding and improving.

Treatment for the mentally or emotionally disturbed is provided in several types of facilities, including general hospitals, private psychiatric hospitals, mental heath clinics, and various social agencies.

Among the facilities for treating mental illness is one which permits many people who would formerly have been hospitalized, perhaps for the rest of their lives, to be served by community mental health centers. These centers offer both inpatient and outpatient care. The services they provide go beyond diagnosis and treatment to include rehabilitation, thus making it possible for more and more of today's psychiatric patients to live at home, function in a job situation, and be a part of their own community.