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Behavioral Health Care
Feeling Blue, Anxious or ‘Stuck’?Talk therapy could help you “I’m confident enough to handle anything now.”—Tamera Weaver still takes a small dose of medication for anxiety. She hopes that someday she’ll no longer need that, but she will continue with meditation, talk therapy and regular exercise to relieve stress (she’s shown here at Curves in Allentown). She recently completed a psychology degree (upper photo is on the Cedar Crest College campus, Allentown), and she plans to start a master’s program with the goal of helping adolescent girls. “No one should have to suffer alone,” she says. “Talk therapy can help you become a whole person again.” Kinds of TherapistsPsychiatrists are medical doctors with added psychiatric training. They can prescribe medications, hospitalize patients and treat people with the most severe psychological disorders.
“Within a few months, I lost three friends in an accident, my uncle passed away, and my boyfriend broke up with me,” says Tamera Weaver of Allentown, who was 19 at the time. “I became so anxious, I didn’t want to eat. I couldn’t go to school, work or even to movies with friends.”
Realizing she needed help, Weaver saw her family physician, who referred her to a psychologist. “I was apprehensive about talking to a stranger,” she says, “but I just plunged in and told her how I was feeling.” Over the next two years, working with her therapist, Weaver learned to view life more positively and grew strong enough to handle stressful situations. She’s a classic example of how to take charge of your own well-being with the help of talk therapy. Also called psychotherapy, talk therapy uses psychological techniques to help people address troublesome feelings and symptoms. A good option for anyone“You don’t need to be incapacitated by anxiety or depression to benefit from talk therapy,” says Ed Norris, M.D., psychiatrist at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Anyone seeking a better quality of life can benefit.”Talk therapy helps people recognize, accept and process emotions so they can move forward after significant life changes—for example, a divorce, the death of a loved one or an extra-stressful work situation. “Some people get stuck on a sandbar,” Norris says. “They aren’t drowning, but they’re having trouble getting back in the swim of things.” Talk therapy often is used in combination with medication, says Patricia Fuisz, R.N., psychiatric clinical nurse specialist at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “The two approaches affect different parts of the brain, so the benefit is greater with both together than either one separately.” Finding a therapistJust as you may need to try a few medications to find the one that works for you, you also may need to try more than one therapist (see Kinds of Therapists, below). Good rapport is essential. Your therapist should be your trusted ally, looking out for your total well-being. “I can teach people how to change destructive behaviors,” Fuisz says, “but my overall goal is to help them live fuller, happier lives. I encourage goodnutrition, exercise, meditation—everything to help the person heal.” Your family doctor can play a key role if you need therapy. Typically, he or she is the first to hear about physical symptoms such as headaches, sleeplessness or loss of appetite that can signal depression or anxiety, says Brian Stello, M.D., family physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. And your family doctor can prescribe medication, counsel people with mild problems and provide referrals. Styles of therapyThere are many different approaches to therapy, and sometimes a combination is your best option. Some of the more common approaches:Psychoanalytic (or psychodynamic) therapy is founded on the concept that unconscious aspects of your mental and emotional life, such as repressed feelings and unresolved childhood problems, can affect your present-day well-being. Through discussions with the therapist you gain insight into these issues and learn how to cope. Cognitive behavioral therapy emphasizes the here and now. You and your therapist work on strategies to change harmful or distorted patterns of thinking, and practice constructive ways of reacting to situations. Supportive therapy is designed to help you deal with life changes—for example, loss of a loved one or a job, empty nest, major illness or retirement. Group therapy brings together people with similar issues. In regular meetings with the therapist, group members learn from each other’s experiences and support each other’s growth. Family therapy treats the family as a unit, focusing on problem-solving and helping them break out of destructive patterns. Couples therapy (or marriage counseling) helps you and your partner communicate better and learn to compromise. Click here to see if you could benefit from talk therapy. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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