Types of Psychotherapies and Treatments for Mental Health Disorders
EMDR is a psychotherapy technique designed to relieve the distress associated with disturbing memories. Short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, it involves recalling a specific troublesome experience while following a side-to-side visual stimulus delivered by the therapist. The resulting lateral eye movements are thought to help reduce the emotional charge of the memory so that the experience can be safely discussed, digested, and stripped of the power to trigger anxiety and avoidance.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a short-term form of psychotherapy based on the idea that how someone thinks and feels affects how he or she behaves. CBT aims to help clients resolve present-day challenges like depression or anxiety, relationship problems, anger issues, stress, or other common concerns that negatively affect mental health and quality of life. The goal of treatment is to help clients identify, challenge, and change maladaptive thought patterns to change their responses to difficult situations.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) used to treat a variety of conditions, including anxiety, phobias, and eating disorders. It is considered the gold-standard treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a time-limited, focused, and evidence-based approach to treating mood disorders. Its main goal is to improve the quality of a client’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning and reduce overall distress. IPT provides strategies to resolve problems within four key areas.
It addresses interpersonal deficits, including social isolation or involvement in unfulfilling relationships.
It can help patients manage unresolved grief—if the onset of distress is linked to the death of a loved one, either recent or past.
IPT can help with difficult life transitions like retirement, divorce, or a move.
IPT is recommended for dealing with interpersonal disputes arising from conflicting expectations between partners, family members, close friends, or coworkers.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a structured program of psychotherapy with a strong educational component designed to provide skills for managing intense emotions and negotiating social relationships. Originally developed to curb the self-destructive impulses of chronic suicidal patients, it is also the treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder, emotion dysregulation, and a growing array of psychiatric conditions. It consists of group instruction and individual therapy sessions, both conducted weekly for six months to a year.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, (MBCT,) is a modified form of cognitive therapy incorporating mindfulness practices that include present moment awareness, meditation, and breathing exercises. This therapy was formulated to address depression. Using these tools, the mindfulness-based therapist teaches a client to be in the here and now as well as break away from negative thought patterns that can cause a decline into a mood-disordered state; this therapy can help a person fight off a difficult frame of mind before it takes hold.
Virtual reality (VR) therapy, also known as virtual reality immersion therapy, is a type of therapy that uses VR technology to simulate scenarios to help people learn new skills and face their fears in a safe environment. Therapists can use VR to treat a range of conditions, including Phobias, PTSD, Anxiety, and Social Skills.
Art therapy involves the use of creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collage, coloring, or sculpting to help people express themselves artistically and examine the psychological and emotional undertones in their art. With the guidance of a credentialed art therapist, clients can interpret the nonverbal messages, symbols, and metaphors often found in these art forms, which should lead to a better understanding of their feelings and behavior so they can move on to resolve deeper problems.
Group therapy is the treatment of multiple patients at once by one or more healthcare providers. Many groups are designed to target a specific problem, such as depression, obesity, panic disorder, social anxiety, chronic pain, or substance abuse. Other groups focus more generally on improving social skills and helping people deal with a range of issues such as anger, shyness, loneliness, and low self-esteem.
Ketamine Treatment According to Yale Medicine, Ketamine infusion for depression is a medical treatment involving the administration of low doses of ketamine, an anesthetic and dissociative drug, intravenously to alleviate symptoms of depression. It has been found to provide rapid relief for patients with treatment-resistant depression and may also be effective in reducing suicidal ideation.
The drug targets a different system in the brain than typical antidepressants, and that may be why ketamine works so well, even for patients who have not had success with different standard antidepressants.
How Depression Affects The Brain
SOURCES:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/topics/brain https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/mental-health
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive procedure that delivers magnetic pulses to the brain to change neural activity. It is used to treat mental health disorders, particularly depression, as well as neurological disorders.
The procedure involves placing a magnetic coil over the scalp. Repetitive magnetic pulses emanate through the coil, enter the brain, and activate neurons in targeted regions, such as those that govern emotion regulation. The increases and decreases of activity in those regions treat depression and other disorders.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary changes in their behavior, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it.
Medication and Therapy For many mental health conditions, clinicians frequently recommend the use of psychotropic medications—those that influence a person’s mental state, such as antidepressants—as a treatment option and a complement to talk therapy. A session with a therapist can be a starting point for discussing potential benefits or concerns related to taking medication, although in most cases, prescriptions are issued by medical professionals.
Motivational Interviewing is a counseling method that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings and insecurities and find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. It is a practical, empathetic, and short-term process that considers how difficult it is to make life changes. Motivational interviewing is often used to address addiction and the management of physical health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma. Motivational interviewing is also appropriate for people who are angry or hostile. Research shows that motivational interviewing is effective in many contexts, including:
Substance use disorder
Weight loss
Medication adherence
Cancer care
Diabetes care
Health behaviors among children
Couples Therapy, also known as couples counseling, is a versatile type of psychotherapy that can be tailored to couples' specific needs and concerns at any stage of their relationship. It focuses on resolving conflicts, improving communication, and fostering a deeper understanding of each other's needs and desires, enhancing the overall relationship.
Family Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that involves working with families and couples to nurture change and development. It aims to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and strengthen relationships within the family unit.
Addiction Therapy Since addiction causes long-term chemistry changes within the brain and body, affecting one’s learning, judgment, decision-making skills, ability to cope with stress, memory, and behavior, several therapies may be used when treating this mental disorder. Therapists and counselors help educate the individual and his or her family about the disease of addiction and ensure that each individual recognizes the signs and symptoms of the disease in his or her own life. Motivational enhancement may be the first step since many patients may not accept that their addiction is not normal. Teaching the individual to both recognize the triggers of relapse and use preventive responses to these triggers is critical during the treatment process.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences. Plasticity is the capacity to be shaped, molded, or altered; neuroplasticity, then, is the ability of the brain to adapt or change over time by creating new neurons and building new networks.
Historically, scientists believed that the brain stopped growing after childhood. However, current research shows that the brain can continue growing and changing throughout the lifespan, refining its architecture or shifting functions to different regions of the brain.
The importance of neuroplasticity can’t be overstated. It means that dysfunctional patterns of thinking and behaving can be changed and that new mindsets, memories, skills, and abilities can be developed.
Macro and Micronutrients (Coming Soon) Brain function requires a full, integrated array of vitamins and minerals for its many steps of neurotransmitter synthesis and signaling and for maintaining healthy cells. Psychiatrists and nurse practitioners can supplement other treatments with nutrition therapy for better outcomes.