Managing a mental health disorder can be completely exhausting and overwhelming. Not only does a person feel pressure to do all of the things other people around them seem to be doing, but they also need to stay on top of their mental health symptoms. Sometimes, it can feel like a bit too much, and a person may start to wonder why they need to do so much. Is it truly necessary to go to therapy and take medications? Can’t I just do one or the other? At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health in Leland, North Carolina, we think it’s important for our patients to have the information they need to make good choices for their own well-being.
How Does Medication Help?
When a doctor prescribes medicine to help with a mental health disorder, they are typically trying to correct the patient’s brain from making the wrong amount of a certain chemical. If the medication works as intended, the person’s symptoms will decrease, and it will become easier for the patient to manage their mental health.
Unfortunately, if the person stops taking the medication or if the medication does not work as it should, the person’s symptoms can return. If they haven’t done anything to enhance their coping skills or get better insight into their mental health or past trauma, they may not see any long-term improvement.
How Does Therapy Help?
There are many types of therapy, and each variety works in a slightly different manner. Some of the benefits of therapy can include:
- Gaining a better understanding of your own feelings
- Finding coping skills that work better for you
- Improving your own mental well-being
- Learning to manage stress
- Practicing the skills you need to build healthy relationships
- Processing painful or traumatic life experiences
These skills can all be immensely helpful in managing your mental health, but if your brain is not working as well as it should because it isn’t creating the right amounts of essential chemicals, it will be harder for you to learn and retain what your therapist is teaching you.
Benefits of Utilizing Medications and Therapy Together
Because therapy and medication often boost the effectiveness of each other, it is often recommended that people utilize both to maximize their mental health. It is important to remember that both therapy and medicine take time to work. It can be frustrating to wait for results, but there is often less of a wait, and results are usually better (not to mention cheaper) when multiple interventions are combined. For example:
- People with depression recovered more fully if they combined medication and therapy, and they were also less likely to relapse when using combination therapy.
- Patients with schizophrenia were more likely to continue their treatment, less likely to relapse, had better insight into their illness, and experienced improved social functioning with medications and therapy, rather than just medicine.
- Clients with bipolar disorder were more likely to follow through with treatment, experience improved social interactions, and have better mental functioning with fewer relapses and hospitalizations if they took medications and attended therapy.
Expanding Your Team
One final benefit of utilizing therapy and medication together to treat mental health is that patients often benefit from having an additional professional on their treatment team. Because it is rare for one mental health provider to prescribe medications and provide therapy, patients who utilize both can get the benefit of two professionals, who may have different training, experience, and insights, to help them develop a comprehensive plan to address their mental health. When these providers work together, they may come up with ideas that build off of the knowledge the other one is bringing to the table.
It’s also good to remember that patients don’t always connect as quickly or strongly with all providers. Having access to more than one mental health professional may make it easier for a patient to have at least one person they can feel comfortable contacting for difficult discussions.
Not everyone can or should engage in every available treatment option. At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health, our team works with each client and their support system to create individualized treatment plans that will meet the unique needs of that person. This includes their inpatient treatment in our program and collaboration with providers in their community, to assure a smooth transition home.
