How Do I Know if I Need Help?
Everyone faces challenges in life and seeking mental health treatment can be scary and expensive. How do I know if I really need help?
It's a good idea to seek a professional opinion on your experiences if:
1. You are unable to perform daily activities or maintain your regular responsibilities.
2. You feel unable to cope or you feel as though you are "barely scraping by" in your daily life.
3. Your experiences have resulted in serious emotional, physical, or financial harm to yourself or others.
4. You have contemplated suicide.
5. You are hearing voices, seeing things, or having other sensorial experiences that cannot be perceived by others.
6. Your family, loved ones, or colleagues have expressed concern for your wellbeing or suggested that you consult a professional.
7. You have engaged in destructive behavior, such as self-injury, restricting food intake, purging, or excessive alcohol or drug use.
What Happens When I seek Professional Help?
What Should I Expect?
Verbalizing your distress, pain, fears, and experiences to a mental health professional for the first time can be scary. How will they react? Will they think I'm "crazy"? Are they going to ship me off to a hospital?
The first appointment with a therapist, counsellor, or psychiatrist is typically like a routine physical for your mind. After you express what has been causing you difficulty, the person assessing you will ask you a series of questions to get a better idea of your situation and to rule out possible causes. They will then likely discuss possible ways forward, make suggestions, and ask what you would like to do next.
Depending on symptoms, they may suggest blood work or other physical exams to investigate possible biological influences, such as hormone imbalances.
You may choose to continue seeing the same professional or they may refer you. For example, a psychiatrist may refer you to a therapist. Or, if a therapist suggests you might benefit from medication, they may refer you to a psychiatrist.
Counselling and Therapy
General Counseling
Counseling is a basic form of talk therapy which consists of speaking in confidence with a licensed professional. This type of therapy can help people cope with a variety of issues from daily stress to life transitions to depression or PTSD.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a structured talk therapy in which a therapist helps the individual identify thoughts and behaviors that are troubling them and identify ways of challenging them. This type of therapy is common for many disorders including anxiety disorders and depression.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a form of talk therapy which combines CBT with an emphasis on self-acceptance, self-understanding, and interpersonal relationships. It is often used as a treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
Child Play Therapy
Play therapy is intended for children experiencing various types of emotional stress, including serious illness, familial distress, grief, ADHD, autism, anxiety, or trauma.
Couples and Family Therapy
Couples and family therapies focus on healing and developing interpersonal relationships with each other. These could be used to help with marital conflict, divorce or separation, challenging adolescent behaviors, or significant life changes.
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR helps to stimulate the brain's own ability to process and change. This type of therapy is used to help the client process past distress or traumatic events that may still be impacting them in the present and is often employed to treat PTSD.
Should I Call 911?
In rare instances, you may need to call 911 for yourself or someone else.
It's important to call 911 for someone else if:
1. They have attempted or are threatening suicide.
2. They are causing physical harm to themselves or others, or are acting violent.
3. They are experiencing a sudden onset of hallucinations (e.g. hearing or seeing things that seem abnormal or that others cannot perceive ).
4. You are concerned for their safety.
5. They are experiencing an abnormal or severe reaction to drugs or alcohol.
It is important that you call 911 for yourself if:
1. You think you are a threat to your own safety or the safety of others. Or if you are considering suicide.
2. You have self-harmed and are unable to control the damage, such as uncontrollable bleeding.
3. You are experiencing the sudden onset of hallucinations (e.g. hearing or seeing things that seem abnormal or that others cannot perceive).
4. You are afraid for your own safety.
5. You have taken an overdose or are experiencing an abnormal or severe reaction to drugs or alcohol.