Mental Health: Treatment for Mental Illness

Symptoms of mental illnesses range from mild to severe and may vary from person to person. Very often, patients suffering from mental illness fail to understand that they are sick and need treatment. In such a scenario, close friends and relatives should consult a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist on the future course of action. The treatment methods commonly practiced by mental health professionals are discussed here.

Psychological Treatment for Mental Illness

This form of treatment is based on the belief that the cause of mental illness lies in the way a person reacts to or perceives things in his or her mind. These treatments help patients to change their ways of thinking, perceiving and behaving, and thereby improve their functioning. Some common psychological therapies for mental illnesses are as follows:

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): Here, the patient's thoughts and behavior patterns are studied carefully. Then the patient and the therapist sit together, to work out some new ways of thinking and behaving. CBT is very effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders and to some extent, psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy: Here, the influence of relationships on a person's thoughts and behavior is closely observed and analyzed. Then the professional talks it out with the patient and gives some valuable insights and suggestions. This works best for those who have had a past record of difficult relationships. In such cases, it has been noticed that some improvement in those relationships can bring about drastic improvement in the person's quality of life.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: This is meant for people with a borderline personality disorder. It helps them to deal with their emotions and responses more efficiently, so as to function better.

Treatment of Mental Illness with Medication

Medication is mainly required to treat those who are severely affected by mental illness. Different types of medications used are as follows:

Antidepressant Medications: As the name suggests, these are depression medications used to treat depression. These medicines are also administered to people with phobias, panic disorder, eating disorders, etc. It works well in 60 to 70 percent of the cases.

Antipsychotic Medications: These kind of drugs first came in the 50s. Initially, the drugs used to have a lot of side effects, but at present, they are available with lesser side effects. The best part of these drugs is that, they allow people with mental illness to lead a life in the community. They do not have to spend years in the confines of psychiatric hospitals.

Mood Stabilizing Medications: This medication is good for patients with manic depression. It prevents the possibility of relapses of depression. Also, it helps to reduce the severity of depression.

Some Other Kinds of Treatment

These are treatment options wherein the patient has to be admitted as an inpatient. They are as follows:

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): In this method, after administering general anesthesia, an electric current is passed through the person's brain. ECT is generally used to treat patients with severe depression. Now, this is not used as frequently as it was used in the past. It is used only in cases where other methods fail to show any results.

Hospitalization: This is done only in extreme cases. When some intensive treatment is needed, the patient is kept under observation in a hospital for a short period of time. Nowadays, as far as possible, medical practitioners generally recommend treatment of mental illness in familiar environments.

Mental illness affects the mental health and physical functioning of the patient. It is like any other ailment and can be treated. However, it is important to get the right treatment at the right time.