By Waseem Kakroo
WE as human beings are emotional beings and are thus unique among all other living things on the globe because of our capacity for in-depth awareness of our emotions and our ability to imagine and feel them. Our reactions vary depending on the circumstances, and thus different situations impact us in different ways at cognitive and/or emotional level. Sometimes because of our emotions, our rationality gets affected and in such situations we need help (counseling) from somebody else to build perspective to deal with the situation in an objective way.
Although counseling is regarded as one of the best helping professions on Earth, yet many people are still unclear about its true meaning, objective, and purpose, especially in our part of the world.
Since we are living beings with a wide spectrum of emotions and an innate desire to live full lives free from suffering, thus in order to help handle sufferings, offering counseling to others has probably always taken place in some form within different human societies.
Counseling not only helps people with mental health issues, but it can also improve the wellbeing of individuals, communities, organizations, and society as a whole. In this article, we go into further detail about the value of counseling and provide a list of its numerous, scientifically studied advantages.
What is mental health counseling?
Mental health counseling includes all of the services that licensed professionals- clinical psychologists offer to clients who need assistance in resolving various issues in their lives. These issues can be personal or behavioral, emotional, marital, occupational, rehabilitative, educational, or life-stage-related. The counseling is provided by professionals like counselors, licensed clinical psychologists through governmental, or non-governmental mental health, or social service agencies. Professionals provide those services to individuals, families and groups. Additionally, mental health counselors especially licensed clinical psychologists have specialization in fields including counseling for victims of trauma and abuse, family and relationship counseling, substance misuse and addiction counseling, and counseling for human sexuality.
Why is mental health counseling important?
Mental health counseling has proven to be beneficial for millions of people across the world. In order to improve the client’s quality of life, it relies on a wellness model that involves collaboration between the counselor and the client.
Individuals can explore their moods and actions with the help of psychotherapy and other counseling approaches. These methods can offer new viewpoints and a deeper comprehension of emotions.
Counseling can help with mood enhancement, the treatment of mental illness, cost-effective medical care, improve interpersonal relations and better communications, and build resilience and promote self-esteem.
The benefits of counseling, as determined by research, are listed below.
1. Scientific proof that counseling helps in mood enhancement and in treatment of mental illness:
In order to enhance their clients’ mental being, counselors employ a wide range of methods and procedures.
Gingerich and Eisengart examined 15 outcome studies on the effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) for a variety of issues, including depression, anxiety, parenting skills, psychosocial adjustment, antisocial behavior, alcohol use, and family conflict. In five carefully monitored studies, SFBT was found to be considerably superior to no treatment.
Treatment for depression: One of the most prevalent mental health diseases in the world is depression. It is a chronic illness that lowers quality of life and causes issues with sleep, eating, and emotions of guilt or apathy.
The psychological treatment of depression was shown to be more successful than conventional (pharmacological) treatment or no treatment at all in a comprehensive evaluation of 30 studies looking at the effectiveness of counseling/therapy treatments (Linde et al., 2015).
Treatment for anxiety: A considerable proportion of Kashmiri population suffers from anxiety, another prevalent mental health disorder. Chronic and frequently crippling clinical anxiety affects many people.
Despite the fact that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy consistently produces the best outcomes for reducing anxiety symptoms, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, and Psychodynamic psychotherapy have also been utilized as counseling techniques to successfully lessen anxiety.
2. Counseling for OCD:
Since the time OCD was seen as a form of anxiety disorder, many counseling techniques have been used to treat it. There is currently widespread agreement among researchers and counseling experts that CBT is a successful treatment for OCD, supported by more than 40 years of research. The biggest body of research supporting the efficacy of exposure-based treatments is available, and roughly 80% of OCD patients respond to one or the other form of psychotherapy.
3. Counseling can lower healthcare expenditures
Physical and mental health are inextricably linked. In many cases, individual’s physical health improves when they receive counseling for underlying mental health issues to help regulate emotions and enhance mood. According to one study, group psychotherapy for those with chronic physical issues reduced the cost of medical care by $10 for every $1 spent (Lorig et al., 1999). This demonstrates the enormous physical and monetary advantages that counseling may provide.
4. Counseling can impart education and help develop skills.
The process of explaining mental health conditions, diagnoses, services, and treatment alternatives is known as psychoeducation.
Many persons who seek counseling are aware of their suffering but have no idea what the root causes, underlying illnesses, or potential solutions of their problems are.
Psychoeducation can help in normalizing mental health issues, reducing stigma, and boosting adherence to treatment regimens. It plays a significant role in numerous trauma therapies. Psychoeducation was discovered to lower rehospitalization rates and shorten the length of hospital stays among people with schizophrenia (Bauml, Frobose, Kraemer, Rentrop, & Pitchel-Waltz, 2006).
Counseling employs a variety of strategies to teach and practice skills that offer both short- and long-term relief. Both general skills like self-awareness, active listening, and communication skills as well as particular skills like mindfulness and behavior modification are taught to clients. Long-term negative thought and behavior patterns can be altered by learning and practicing these techniques in counseling sessions.
5. Counseling can foster resilience-building factors.
Different counseling techniques provide a basis for educating and enhancing resilience (that includes living with meaning or purpose, experiencing positive feelings, hardiness, self-esteem, healthy coping, self-efficacy, optimism, flexible thinking) through discussion, role-play, practical activities, and homework.
Positive CBT techniques like stress inoculation therapy can help people learn more flexible ways of thinking and responding emotionally and behaviorally. The majority of clients seek counseling to address a single issue in their lives, but they often leave with fresh perspectives and tools that give their lives meaning, positive emotions, coping mechanisms, and a feeling of increased self-worth.
Is it important to take counseling while being on medication?
Medication is recommended especially in those cases where the severity of mental health issues has become significantly impairing. In such cases, a buffer can be created by medication recommended by a qualified practitioner (psychiatrist), which will lessen the severity of symptoms and improve self-control. This holds true for a variety of symptoms, including those related to depression, anxiety, traumatic flashbacks, mood swings, agitation, difficulties in focusing etc.
Addressing the root problems through counseling is simpler once symptoms are under control through medication. Once the medication lessen the severity of the symptoms, it becomes easier to access, investigate, and modify the underlying problematic beliefs and resultant behaviors that were caused by the symptoms and/or have maintained the symptoms.
Counseling/psychotherapy increases awareness. The nervous system may receive chemical help from medication. Medication and psychotherapy together might improve a person’s sense of control and manageability of their life. This can then encourage someone to seek out new opportunities and make novel decisions, seeing their life expanding.
You and your psychiatrist get to decide when to stop medication once you’ve started. By the time most people decide to stop taking their medicine, their toolbox of cognitive and behavioral strategies might have expanded by the efforts they and their therapist put in counseling sessions.
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