Until recently, there was a stigma attached to people who sought therapy. Thankfully, this attitude has softened as our society now recognizes the importance of mental health as a part of our overall wellbeing.
Many areas in life can lead you to seek therapy. You may be struggling in your marriage, struggling with addiction, struggling with anxiety or depression or suffering the effects of a trauma. Counseling can help you with these struggles.
The type of counselling that you need depends on your struggle. The following is designed to help you to better understand the types of counselling available, so that you can determine what kind of help to seek.
Mental Health Counselling
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), around one in five adults struggle with some form of mental illness. Over a quarter (25.8%) of teens and young adults have mental health struggles.
Mental health counsellors are trained to help people who are dealing with a mental health issue, including:
Bipolar disorder
ADHD
Eating disorders
Often combinations of psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioural, dialectic, eye movement desensitization and humanistic therapies are utilized to help you deal with mental health issues. Psychodynamic therapy looks at one’s internal relationships with themselves and the world around them, to help the individual shift those relationships to find healthier balances.
Cognitive therapies look at ways that we talk to ourselves about our relationship with the world around us, and are considered to be especially helpful for anxiety and depressive disorders, especially when combined with behaviour therapy. A combination of Mindfulness based Cognitive-Behavioural psychotherapy and Exposure therapies are considered best practices for treating trauma, with Cognitive Processing and Eye Movement Desensitization considered to be critical components of such treatment.
Dialectic therapies focus on helping an individual to build the skills necessary for navigating the world around them and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing helps an individual to let go of the emotional content associated with traumatic memories.
Substance Abuse Counselling
Millions of people struggle with addiction to alcohol or drugs. The COVID-19 crisis has made these struggles worse, as financial and family stress heighten the need for an “escape.”
A substance abuse counsellor can diagnose, assess, and treat addiction problems. They develop an individual therapy program to help people break free of their dependence on alcohol or other substances. Often therapy includes individual and group sessions.
Marriage and Family Counselling
Marriage and family counsellors specialize in helping couples that are experiencing problems in their relationship. They may address other issues, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD, but therapy focuses on how those issues impact marital and family relationships.
If you are fighting a lot, having trouble communicating, or dealing with other serious conflicts, counselling can help you talk through them and come to a resolution. These types of counsellors can also help if you have issues with your children, whether they are still young or teenagers.
Take Care Of Your Mental Health
It is only recently that we have begun to recognize the link between mental health and overall health. Please contact us if you feel that you need help in finding a better balance in your life.
Let us be a part of your first step to taking back control of your life.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment.