Therapy can treat mental illness, experts say – Article

Local mental health experts say treatment for mental health concerns often should include mental therapy, or counseling, to restore a person to health.

The latter doesn’t always share the same level of understanding among patients — even from those who may need it the most.

Dr. Marion Sherman, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, said there is often a mentality, both by patients and others, that people should be able to handle mental illness on their own.

“We have this notion that we should pull ourselves up by the boot straps,” she said. “Many people don’t know how well treatment, including therapy, works for those who need it and have access to it.”

Research shows the best outcomes are the combination of medication and therapy.

“That doesn’t mean that everyone that needs therapy also needs medication,” said Dr. Robin Arthur, chief of psychology for the Lindner Center of HOPE, “But, when you get to places where your mental distress is very extensive, medication can be helpful. It’s a faster treatment. When the medication helps to relieve the physiological symptoms, you can work more effectively with therapy.”

Early intervention is key as well as a good diagnostic evaluation.

“The better your first initial diagnostic evaluation, the better your long-term outcome,” she said.

Getting intervention early might mean the course of treatment is shorter, Arthur said. Similar to a wound that is never treated but reopened repeatedly, it will be more difficult to heal.

Even if friends and family are supportive, Arthur said a therapist works as a patients’ advocate.

“I think therapy is about finding someone to talk with about what’s going on in your life, who can really help you look at all the angles as well as the potential biological components,” she said. “It’s a unique relationship you don’t have with your friends or your working relationships and your family. It helps you make changes to live a more fulfilled and effective life.”

Therapy can help unexplained fatigue, physical pains, burnout, anxiety and stress as well as life-threatening illnesses, she said.

Arthur said a newer and increasingly popular therapy is dialectical behavioral therapy, which focuses on helping patients find a balance between acceptance and change. The overall goal is helping them not only survive, but build a life worth living, she said.

Developed in the 1970s, DBT has been shown to be more effective or as effective as other psychotherapies, she said, and helps treat severe depression or suicidal tendencies.

It’s based on cognitive behavioral therapy but also focuses on acceptance and empathy — meeting patients where they are, she said. This means looking at what the patient thinks about changes that may help him or her live a life worth living.

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