Psychological Therapy is More Important Than You Think

Mental illnesses affect millions of families each year, and yet, it is one of the least discussed topics. Many individuals to this day consider it as a taboo and do not categorize it as a serious illness. Every illness or disease requires treatment and medical attention – mental illness does too. Mental health counseling is an up and coming industry that aids mental health illnesses in the best possible way to facilitate healthy living – both physically and mentally. Here are some facts about mental health counseling that you probably did not know.  1.      Mental illness is not a flaw Many individuals mistakenly attribute their mental shortcomings by thinking they are flawed, or they are “the problem”. Mental illnesses are, most often, caused by hormonal imbalances which cannot be controlled. Suffering from a mental illness is not your fault , neither does it make you any less of an incredible person. 2.      Mental illnesses a...

The harsh reality of the current society in India is that marriage is still considered to be the ‘be all and end all’ goal of anyone’s life. Everything we do as teens, and adults is to one day be an eligible bachelor or spinster. Because of the pedestal that we have placed the institution of marriage on, it is hard for us to accept that any relationship, legally binding or not, can be flawed. Marriage counseling as a concept is still frowned upon in most of the today’s Indian society. So much so that people continue to be in toxic marriages because even thinking about separation is blasphemous. However, sooner rather than later, people will have to understand that whenever two individuals are involved, conflicts are bound to happen. Those conflicts go up a few notches when one of the people, or both, have deep underlying issues of their own. And they never really worked on them because the society made them believe that marriage fixes everything, including them. No matter how g...

Just accepting that you need therapy is a great first step. Especially in a country like India where mental health issues are not talked about and therapy is taboo. While the conversation around mental health in India is at an all-time high in terms of popularity and acceptance, there is a long way to go before therapy and mental health are normalized. Can you imagine discussing a headache as casually as a bout of anxiety with your parents? Seems like a dystonia  idea, doesn’t it? Well, the aim is to turn dystonia  into reality. Till then, mental health counseling will be on the fringes of regular conversation. However, it is worth noting that the rise in popularity of social media has had a major impact on this conversation. Because open conversations and dialogue about mental health can now reach to a wider audience, people from tier 2 and 3 cities have also started to talk about their mental health. This is the real victory for therapy in India. Coming back the main top...

Irrespective of your age, city or occupation, mental health problems can crop at any time. Much like physical issues, mental health issues, too, can be cured, as long as you accept that you need help and actively seek it. Mental health counseling has become a lot more feasible and accessible in some of the major cities in recent years. What this has led to is that a lot more people are now accepting of mental health problems. However, it is still hard for some people to fathom that young kids can also face a lot of trauma. Uncured trauma on a long term can be extremely harmful, hence, it is paramount for us to understand the importance of therapy in a child’s life too. Teenagers, especially, suffer from problems that are not necessarily easy to explain. In such times, it becomes extremely important for a parent, guardian or a relative to see the signs, recognised a problem and find a therapist for the child. While adults, thanks to life experiences, are more equipped when it co...

Your brain consists of almost 1-2 billion neurons and weighs about 2-4 pounds and of course is massively interconnected. Your thoughts, memories, experiences and your personality – the way you are wired – is all cramped into your brain. Amongst all these vast connections and wirings, it is no surprise that sometimes something can go wrong. Thankfully though, there are several groups of people that focus on fixing these issues, as well as preventing them altogether. This area of study is called mental health counseling which is defined as an individual who has a degree and certification in psychology performing therapy using a combination of various forms of psychotherapy to solve a problem that is related to mental health. The most commonly asked question is about the difference between groups that are involved in therapy and the groups that are involved in counseling. Well, there are more similarities than differences, but the primary difference between the two is based on the l...

Each family is a unique social system and unit that possesses its own unique structure and pattern of communication. The patterns are dictated by various factors and aspects of the family like the personality of each member within that unit or parenting styles and values as well as how much or little the extended family influences the members. Over the past few years, more and more people have considered going for and have gone for family counseling for it is seen more as a beneficial option than a taboo. The primary objective of mental health counseling in the form of family counseling is to achieve a healthy level of functioning and harmony within the family unit. Here are some family counseling techniques that actually work: Communication - One of the main reasons that families face problems is due to lack of or fault communication between members. Counselors or therapists adapt various different techniques to bring about a better sense of communication amongst members and r...

One in every four Americans are known to suffer from a mental illness. That, of course, is an estimate generated from awareness. In India, most cases of mental illnesses go unrecorded and this makes us realize how unaware people are about the importance of mental health. Why is mental health awareness important? For starters, mental health awareness helps a health psychologist to identify illnesses and provide early treatment for these individuals. Early intervention can help individuals receive the right care for quick recovery.  It has been noticed through research that almost 50% of individuals who suffer from a mental illness or know someone who suffers haven’t sought the help of a professional because they did not know how to access the service. This dearth in access is because of misinformation or sheer lack of it. Mental illnesses cannot be treated by merely hoping for treatment. Any kind of cultural or language barriers need to be eliminated. Mental health counseling ...

In a given year approximately one in every five adults face mental health problems in the United States of America. This means that roughly 18.5 percent of the total population in the United States see a mental health psychologist for their problems. This does not encapsulate even half of the struggles over the world since millions of people across the globe do not speak up about mental health due to the fear of discrimination, stigmatization or isolation from their friends, family, society and employers. This discrimination can be detrimental to the patient’s mental health if their disorder worsens due to delayed diagnosis and no mental health counseling or therapy received by a mental health therapist. It’s time to intervene and diminish the misunderstandings about mental health. Here are a few – 1.      Mental illness is a rare phenomenon Mental health problems are so much more common that people know. 1 in every 5 people are affected by mental health pr...

Mental health counseling is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in the country. We as a people even tend to look down up the idea of going to a therapist in the first place and in general, there is fairly low awareness when it comes to the actual topic of mental health counseling. While most people believe that it is a practice that only benefits people who are undergoing a serious mental health condition, the reality is that counseling can work in a variety of ways for a range of different people. It means different things to different people and hence the scope is vast. Let's discuss some of the aspects of therapy and understand how it can improve a person's day to day life. People undergoing depression rarely seek depression help in this country. This fact should immediately raise a ton of red flags since therapy has been proven to be one of the best ways to combat depression. Therapy and counseling help the depressed individual truly understand their ...

Depression is a concept that is as misunderstood in our country as is therapy. Most people regard depression to be just a negative state of mind and even those suffering from it do not actively seeking out depression help . On the other hand, society including friends and family, constantly pressurize depressed individuals to just "cheer up" and feel better. Depressed individuals are hence relegated to a never-ending spiral of self-doubt, guilt and of course, further depression. The only way out is through proper guided therapy. Mental health counseling for depression is a specialized space. The aim here is to not only help depressed individuals change their outlook towards life but to also empower them to work and function well in future without the aid of therapy. This is done through guided therapy sessions that are spaced out over a period. These usually start with the therapist letting the patient talk about their issues and how they can or cannot cope with the...