The stigma regarding mental health therapy is slowly disintegrating. Not even that long ago, in the 60s and 70s, mental health was generally considered by the majority of the population as something that is unimportant not worthy of discussing.
A recent survey of more than 1,000 Gen-Z participants (ages 18-24) from Harmony Healthcare IT revealed that 87% feel comfortable talking about mental health to others and 20% admit to going to therapy. These are signs that we are finally breaking free from the stigma’s surrounding mental health therapy and realizing the importance of viewing mental health in the same light as physical health.
Table of contents:
- Stigmas surrounding Mental Health
- Finding balance in life
- Different types of mental health therapy
- Benefits of mental health therapy
- Therapy for children
- Supporting the cause
- Mental Health Therapy in Merrillville
Stigmas surrounding Mental Health
Therapy is a POWERFUL tool that can be used to help cope with stressors, understand past trauma, and build interpersonal skills. Unfortunately, although there is a strong positive trend toward mental health acceptance and transparency, there is a stigma that exists against therapy for many people.
Some families believe in “keeping things to themselves” or “working it out” on their own. That may be possible in some cases, but not all. Holding things in, not seeking help, and/or not making time for therapy is adding stress on top of stress.
If you ignore your mental health, and pretend that mental illness is simply something that you can ignore until it goes away, it’s like putting a bandage over a gaping wound that has not healed. It is also not conducive to creating healthy habits and breaking generational curses. We have to remember that…
Finding balance in life
Humans are social animals and at some point in our lives, we all need support. Unfortunately, we are left to our own devices, which may not be healthy. In most cases, we seek distraction instead of addressing our mental health challenges.
A lot of people turn to bad habits such as drugs and/or alcohol, or unhealthy habits such as stress eating, over-working, becoming addicted to social media, excessive working out, etc. Too much of anything is not good. We all need a HEALTHY BALANCE, which may be difficult to obtain on our own, so therapy is the best tool to help create that balance.
Different types of mental health therapy
Psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mental illness, what do all of these mean? As soon as many people see these phrases, they get scared. It is a natural reaction for humans to fear something they don’t understand.
The best remedy is to learn more about mental health and therapy to realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. Here is a visually friendly list of different types of mental health therapies to help you understand some of the terminology better.
Source: Mind Journal
Benefits of mental health therapy
“I’m not crazy! I don’t need therapy.”
This is the old school of thought. But now, it is changing to:
“A healthy mind, creates a happy life”
Considering that even top athletes undergo mental health therapy to improve their performance on the field, why wouldn’t we consider mental health therapy to enhance our own performance in our daily lives?
Here are some of the benefits regarding mental health therapy.
Source: https://mind.help/topic/therapy/
Therapy for children
When considering the different types of therapy, therapy for small children may look a little “different”. At our clinic, we are seeing an increase in Autism, behavior concerns, oppositional defiance, attention deficits, anxiety, and depression with kiddos as young as 2 years old. We support smaller children through “Play Therapy.
Here is a schematic of how “play therapy” works.
Source: https://yourbestselftherapy.com/play-therapy/
A parent asked me In a meeting “can a 7 year old be depressed?!”. My response was “ABSOLUTELY!”. Depression and anxiety looks different in children. They may not seem interested in activities that may usually make them happy, they may sleep more, excessively bite their nails, become upset or angry abruptly, etc.
In schools, I often see students attempt to “escape” their environment because they are nervous or worried about an event. If a child does not understand the work presented to them, they will ask the teacher to go to the bathroom, walk to the water fountain, joke around with another student, and many students act out to get kicked out in order to escape an undesirable activity or a person.
Support the cause
As teachers, parents, and caregivers, we have to be able to identify the cause of the behavior to support and alleviate the stressors that our children are dealing with. Listen attentively when they speak to you, do not “blame” or “judge” them for the way that they feel, take time to talk to their teachers, and most importantly, take time to build healthy relationships with your children!
When you do this and spend more time with them, they begin to trust you more and will open up to you when they need you.
Mental Health Therapy in Merrillville
SuperPSYCHed is at the forefront of revolutionizing Pediatric Therapeutic Services and accepts most insurances. Our clinical services are renowned for helping children with speech therapy, physical therapy, therapy for Autism, and occupational therapy.
If you have any additional questions about any type of mental health therapy in Merryville or would like to book an evaluation session, click here and complete the form, or contact us at 219-750-9600.
