The Language of Mental Health
The Difference Between Mental
Health and Mental Illness
It is common for the terms “mental health” and “mental illness” to be used interchangeably in conversation but it is important to know that while they are connected, they mean different things.
Mental health: Mental health refers to an individual’s fundamental functioning regarding their emotions, communication, learning, coping skills, and self-esteem. Our mental health affects our activities of daily living such as how we function at school and work, maintaining healthy relationships, and our ability to adapt to change.
Mental illness: A medical condition that involves a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. A diagnosis is based upon the level of distress an individual experiences and whether or not this distress is accompanied by changes in their emotional processing and expression, their thought process, and/or their behavior. All types of mental illness and diagnoses are health conditions and require attention from a doctor, therapist, and/or a psychiatrist.
SOURCE:
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness
The Difference Between
Psychiatrist and Therapist
When you are looking for help it is important to know what kind of help is available. There are two common types of mental health professionals that might be able to support you, a therapist and a psychiatrist. Commonly used interchangeably, these professions have some major differences that should be known prior to seeking support.
Psychiatrist: A medical doctor who attended medical school and has specific training as a psychiatrist resident. They are able to prescribe medication as well as diagnose medical and mental illnesses. Psychiatrists are good resources if you believe that your mental illness is starting to affect your physical health. If you are already seeing a therapist, it is likely that they might refer you to a psychiatrist if it seems like medication might be beneficial.
Therapist: This is a general term for a variety of occupations such as counselors, psychologists, and psychotherapists. A therapist is an individual who is trained in talk therapy and obtains a master’s degree in order to practice. While a therapist can treat, diagnose, and assess mental health disorders, they cannot write prescriptions because they do not have the same medical degree that is required of a psychiatrist.
Usually, these two professions work closely together depending on your needs. It is more common that an individual seeks out a therapist first, and after a few sessions the therapist might refer the individual to a psychiatrist if they believe that medication is appropriate.
SOURCE: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/psychiatrist-vs-therapist-whats-the-difference/
Types of Therapy
It is common to discover that many therapists do not strictly utilize just one therapeutic approach but incorporate a combination that best supports their therapeutic style. If none of these feel right for you, please feel free to click the link below to view a comprehensive list of other therapeutic approaches. We hope you find what you are looking for.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy
When looking for support it is important to know what kind of support you prefer. Not every therapist has the same therapeutic approach so it might take a couple tries to find the right one. One way to make the process easier is to familiarize yourself with the different kinds of therapeutic styles. While there are too many to list, we took the time to summarize and explain a few of the most commonly used approaches.
Psychodynamic Therapy: Mainly focused on looking inward and being self-reflective to better understand yourself and utilizes connections between current feelings and your past experiences as a way to help identify patterns in your behavior, thoughts, relationships, and experiences.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): An empirically studied approach that focuses more on present issues than past experiences. CBT is a problem solving approach that identifies certain negative or irrational behaviors and thought patterns that contribute to current distress and challenges the client to try and change their responses to difficult situations. A major tenant of CBT is that perception is reality, therefore if we can change our perception of a situation that more accurately reflects reality, then the amount of distress we experience diminishes. If you can identify your irrational or negative thoughts and behaviors then you can find a way to control them and develop a better way of reacting to challenging situations that diminishes the amount of distress in your life, leading to more positive experiences.
SOURCE: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/cognitive-behavioral-therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Similar to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), DBT focuses more on developing skills within four areas - mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness - as a way to help manage conflict. Instead of providing the client with “either-or” perspectives, the therapist promotes a balanced “both-and” perspective that encourages the individual to avoid all-or-nothing thinking and acknowledge many possible perspectives.
SOURCE: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/dialectical-behavior-therapy
Strengths-based Therapy: Instead of discussing and dissecting the client’s weaknesses or failures, the therapist encourages them to shift their perspective and view themselves as a survivor instead of a victim. By doing so, the client can then begin to recognize that they already possess all of the positive skills they need to transcend difficulties and move forwards in life.
SOURCE: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/strength-based-therapy
Person-centered Therapy: Also known as Rogerian Therapy was developed by Carl Rogers, an American psychologist based on the belief that everyone is different, therefore the client is the expert of their life. The therapist’s role is to be a facilitator that provides unconditional positive regard, empathetic understanding, and congruence , meaning the therapist does not take on an authoritative role but instead remains objective and accessible which allows for a sense of transparency for the therapeutic relationship.
SOURCE: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/person-centered-therapy