Inpatient Mental Health Treatment Centers
Innovation in the fields of evidence-based medication, psychotherapy, and psychosocial services like peer support and rehabilitation have made recovery a reality for individuals living with mental health conditions. Mental illnesses, though, are as common as they are mysterious. In fact, some statisticians claim that mental illnesses are more common than cancer, heart disease or diabetes. They are caused by a combination of factors that are sometimes difficult to understand or prevent. They do not discriminate, affecting people evenly across all walks of life, regardless of their age, income levels, cultural background or gender.
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The image of mental illness created by popular media is that of a problematic individual, most likely incoherent, wasting away at an inpatient mental health treatment center, restrained and highly volatile. However, this is extremely rare; the vast majority of people who suffer mental health problems walk and talk just like those who do not. Still, people fear that which they do not understand, and the negative connotation of mental illness often gets in the way of individuals reaching out for help. Ironically, mental health then pushes them further away from the very help they need, and creates a scenario where the resources which would help fight the illness become unattainable. Even so, mental illness, like physical illness, requires careful treatment and management.
Treatment
Mental health treatment centers offer the following types of treatment:
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Psychotherapy: this refers to the therapeutic treatment offered by trained medical personnel. It explores thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and through this exploration seeks to improve the well-being of the patient. There are many types of psychotherapy, like exposure therapy, cognitive behavior therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. Depending on the severity of mental condition and the level of management that the treatment method requires, psychotherapy can happen at an outpatient or inpatient mental health treatment facility.
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Medication: even though it is not an outright treatment for mental illness, medication helps with the management of symptoms. Paired with psychotherapy, it becomes the most efficient mental health treatment technique.
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Case management: this is the coordination of treatment with the help of a case manager. Case managers help assess, plan and execute various recovery strategies.
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Inpatient mental health treatment: in rare cases, hospitalization might be necessary in order to have an individual monitored closely. Hospitalization allows for the effective management of patient medication, and adjustment in case their situation worsens.
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Support groups: mental health treatment facilities use support groups to have patients support and guide each other towards the shared goal of mental health. Many support groups are coordinated by professionals, as well as peers who have suffered similar conditions in the past.
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Alternative medicine: complementary or alternative medicine can either be used as a standalone treatment technique or in combination with other therapies. Alternative medicine refers to those interventions that are generally not considered or associated with standard care.
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Self-help plan: a lot of strength is necessary on the part of the individual suffering the mental health issues in order to have them fight through and recover. Self-help programs tap into this strength. Self-help plans are set by mental health rehabilitation centers to help the patient on their road to recovery. Many of them are unique to the individual and their situation, and might involve exposure therapy, addressing wellness, mental states, thoughts, emotions and warning signs.
Benefits of Seeking Treatment
There are numerous tools and techniques that might help in the recovery process, some temporary, and some long term. The internet is awash with sites that give advice and tips, but nothing could ever replace the experience of a mental health treatment center. The best mental health rehabilitation centers have specialized facilities, qualified and experienced specialists and access to facilities that one might not be able to find with an online self-help plan. The internet gives a false sense of security. On social media, one might feel close to the people they interact with. However, this will likely not be the same kind of support group therapy one might find at the best residential mental health treatment facilities.
Mental illnesses are never as straightforward as they seem to be. An individual suffering from depression, for instance, might not realize it in time, especially if it is not triggered by traumatic events. It takes the trained eye of a specialist to be able to identify the various dynamics of the mental illness, how severe it is and how much help is needed for one to recover. Mental illnesses are further complicated by the fact that they almost never show externally. There are no physical symptoms, and many are caused by unknown combinations of factors.
A Package Deal
Unlike, say a flu or headache, mental illnesses are never standalone. This is the reason why residential mental health treatment is so important. If left unchecked, sometimes even for the short period that the illness is full blown, there can be disastrous consequences. Individuals suffering from mental illness have been known to end up engaging in drug abuse, activities that encourage self-harm or even suicide at worst. At mental health residential treatment facilities, there are staff available round the clock to keep an eye on patients and monitor their progress.
Mental illness is difficult to live with, but the more one keeps it inside, the harder it gets to recover. As bad as the situation might seem, there is likely a success story of a patient who recovered from worse at one of our mental health rehabilitation centers. Fear only begets more fear, so don’t be afraid to go out and seek for help. There are amazing procedures, tried, tested and proven over time, as well as dedicated professionals at and to help.