May 1, 2022
A common question about the various mental health providers is, "What is a mental health counselor/therapist and how can they help me? " Counselors are masters-level or higher licensed professional providers that have gone through specific training and have the necessary experience to help support you and your loved ones with the problems you are facing. There are different types of counselors that focus their practice on different problems you may be facing. A few of the different types of counselors are: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Clinical Drug and Alcohol Counselor (LCDAC), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).
Mental health counselors work with you and your loved ones to help you overcome a variety of life's problems and live a healthy, full life while dealing with the stress of problems you are struggling with. They will often work with you so that you can better understand how your behaviors, emotions, and thoughts as well as how those who interact closely with you affect your life and ability to function at a healthy level. The most common problems that a counselor will work with you on are: depression, anxiety, ADHD, substance use, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders.
For much of the history of mental health, there has been a negative stigma associated with struggles to deal with life's problems. Fortunately, there has been a revolution in awareness to these struggles over the past two decades and many more people are able to reach out and express their struggles with living their best life. However, more work is needed to promote awareness for the benefits of working with providers who have experience in supporting your efforts to overcome life's difficulties. At the core of these efforts to improve mental health are licensed counselors.
Types of Mental Health Therapy Treatment
Counseling therapy can help improve symptoms for many mental health and medical problems by helping you develop skills to more effectively deal with the thoughts and feelings you are having. Although not an exhaustive list of the different types of therapy, a few common types of therapy include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of therapy will help you cope better with depression by teaching skills specific to management of organization, patterns of thinking, and behavioral patterns.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Therapy treatment that works to reduce or eliminate the stress associated with a traumatic event or memory. The traumatic memory is accessed so that new associations can form more complete information processing.
Family therapy. Because many people with depression encounter loved ones, family members, and spouses who are unfamiliar with depression, this therapy can help them overcome the stress associated with living with someone who struggles with depressive symptoms.
Music therapy. This therapy utilizes music to help relax an individual to enhance their mood. Music therapy activates cognitive, motor, and speech centers in the brain to help improve overall functioning.
Talk therapy. This type of therapy employs a variety of techniques to help a person better deal with thoughts and behaviors.
Interpersonal therapy. IPT is a type of therapy that focus on personal relationships and how you feel. It is a short-term, intensive therapy.
Integrative therapy. This therapy approach takes aspects from different therapy types to create a personal therapy to best treat the presenting problem.
Somatic Experiencing (SE). This type of therapy is typically used for those who have experienced past traumatic events but can also be successfully used for problems with anxiety, grief, substance use, and chronic pain. By helping individuals release stress from prior traumatic events and helping to reconnect in a more positive manner, stress
Treatment For long-term Success
At Pine Ridge Mental Healthcare, we’ve found success using a variety of approaches to mental health problems. Discussing these approaches with a trusted provider is the first and most important step. Getting your mental health under control is a key to improving how you feel.
Although medications are an important aspect of mental health, our mental health team works to reduce your reliance on medications by educating you about the different tools available and how life situations can affect your mood. Therapists are an excellent tool to accomplish this.
For more information about your problem or for help managing your health, schedule an appointment online or over the phone at Pine Ridge Mental Healthcare in Owasso, Oklahoma. If you are interested in other services we provide, check out our services page.
Resources
· EMDR