• Hey there, welcome to Talk Mental Health – a cozy corner where we're all about mental health, wellness, and just being real. This is your spot to connect with a community that gets it, where we're all on this journey together. Whether you're navigating tough times or lending a listening ear, we've got your back. No judgment, just genuine support. Step in, take a deep breath, and let's make this a space where we lift each other up. Glad you're here!
  • While Talk Mental Health offers a platform for peer support and shared experiences, it is not a substitute for professional mental health assistance. If you find yourself in genuine danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, please reach out to qualified professionals. In the UK, you can contact emergency services by dialing 999. For non-emergency support, consider reaching out to organizations like Samaritans at 116 123. In the USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). For support in Australia, contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636. Your well-being is our priority, and seeking professional help is a crucial step towards your mental health journey.

Things You Should Know About A Mental Health Counselor

Life is full of unexpected surprises. You never know what the next moment might bring and can even turn a happy-go-lucky person into a total recluse. It often happens that a tragic incidence turns an individual's world upside down and thus affects his/her physical and mental heath. While it is easy to overcome physical health problems with the passage of time, it is equally important to pay attention to mental health issues. A mental health counselor is a professional who works to counsel, support and provides guidance to individuals who are facing emotional and mental illness problems. These people engage their clients in multiple sessions trying to find out the root cause and assist them to get their lives back on track. A mental health therapist usually makes use of following approaches to help his/her patients.

Follows a holistic approach

These counselors are aware of the fact that therapy sessions need to be much more than just talking and listening. They use a holistic method to understand the symptoms shown by a patient and do research to recognize the possible illness. They examine various issues such as whether the person is being bullied, has depression due to a failed relationship or low marks, career stress, self-image concerns or suicidal tendencies to understand what is affecting the client and then decide on a wellness model to lift him/her out of the mental block.

Makes an attempt to understand culture

Mental health counselors have to deal with patients from varying backgrounds and usually do not have the complete knowledge about their cultures. While cultural differences must not be used to subject an individual to try out activities, a counselor might bring this up in a session to understand the patient's perspective on a particular topic. He/she never asks the patient to alter opinions and only aims to get co-operation from the person to get answers to relevant questions.

Have a flexible approach

Even in today's world, seeking guidance from such counselors is considered a taboo, and people shy away from talking about it in open. This makes the job more strenuous as it gets difficult to address mental health issues of the concerned person on time. Even if they get a chance to conduct therapy sessions, every thing depends on how well the patient responds to the approach. For example, if a child with mental issues refuses to budge to complete a task, the therapist has to use alternative methods to encourage the kid. If there is no positive outcome of a session, counselor keeps patience and instead of creating unnecessary boundaries, gives it another try in the next session.

Make use of different therapies

These counselors use different techniques to understand the exact problem and then take help of various therapies to ensure steady progress. When an individual visits them for the first time, they emphasize learning about the person's background, behavioral attitude, thoughts, emotions and feelings. With these, the therapists perform psychoanalysis of the concerned person and then determine which therapy would be the best. They have different therapies like cognitive behavioral, behavior modification, patient centered, solution focused and eclectic approach. By making use of therapies, they try to motivate an individual to focus on strengths and suppress unwanted feelings.

Make use of assessment tools

When an individual has a mental or emotional instability, it can be testing times for family and can also disrupt the entire family equilibrium. The counselors provide needed support to the patient's family and incorporate assessment tools in the treatment to get better insights about what is troubling the patient. It can be as simple as a questionnaire where the person has to tick a check box.

Seeking mental health counseling services can ensure well-being of an individual and even save lives in extreme cases. Instead of neglecting mental issues, one must spread awareness of about such problems and encourage others to seek timely advice.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carol_R_Wilson/1245071


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9782844
 
Back
Top