Our Emotional And Mental Health
Emotional suffering touches nearly every family in America, and over 30% of the population is said to have suffered some form of emotional suffering. Emotional and mental disorders can happen to any age group, race, religion, or income class.
The good news is that conditions affecting our emotional and mental health are nearly always treatable. Most who seek treatment early can experience substantial relief from their symptoms with active and engaged support.
Treatments for clinical mental health problems can vary greatly and include medication, one-on-one counseling, and group therapy.
Unfortunately, stigma and discrimination associated with emotional health issues and their treatment have led to underfunded and poorly managed public services across the nation.
How mental health professionals can help
There are a variety of categories of emotional illness under the broader category of mental health. However, emotional illness has traditionally been understood as a psychological disorder that manifests as a subjective dysfunction that inhibits or prevents healthy emotional development and behavior.
Diagnosing serious mental illness falls mainly within the professional domain of clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and licensed counselors.
The most traditional and common forms of neuropsychiatric disorders for which mental health services are indicated can include manic depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and personality disorder, to name just a few.
Treatment and care for people who present with severe and debilitating neuropsychiatric illness are provided by mental health hospitals and clinics and community mental health services, the former being usually paid by private insurance plans or on a cash basis, the latter being funded by public resources.
Alcohol and substance abuse
While not considered a DSM-V (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) category disorder, chronic substance dependence is highly prevalent in mental health service treatment centers.
In this sense, drug dependence can be viewed as a secondary feature of a more serious underlying problem.
Goals of Mental Health Professionals
Mental Health Services aims to provide programs to improve the lives of people with clinical neuropsychiatric health challenges.
This can indicate the need for a patient assessment, addiction counseling, treatment, suicide prevention, ongoing care, and accessibility to essential state and local services.
Grim statistics
According to a 2020 National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), mental illness is pervasive in the United States.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults has a mental illness – this calculates to almost 53 million as of 2020. The mental conditions vary in severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe.
Of the nearly 53 million people who reported experiencing some form of severe emotional or mental illness in the previous year, approximately 20 percent were also suffering from addiction and substance abuse.
Early diagnosis means timely treatment
Early diagnosis and treatment are significant factors that can substantially increase the patient’s chances of overall success and recovery.
By ensuring open and public access to treatment and recovery services, success and progress can be significantly accelerated, and the adverse effects of the illness can be reduced substantially.
Family Therapy
Family therapy has proven to be a practical approach for adolescents already receiving mental health care. It is critically important that parents better understand the problems associated with adolescent life and behavior.
By understanding the stressors that trigger clinical forms of depression, families can support their children in managing and overcoming these obstacles before they develop into more acute problems.
Suicide Prevention Programs
A primary goal of community mental health services is to provide immediate treatment and prevention of suicide within its local population. Of particular concern is the near-epidemic scope of suicide among young adults in our local communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between 15 and 24.
It is estimated that most of these young people were inflicted with some form of severe depressive disorder and secondary features of addiction and substance abuse.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK. (8255).
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