Types of Treatment

Treatment refers to any effort that attempts to correct or alleviate something. For example, treating sewage with UV or ozone light might make the waste cleaner.

The NNT (number needed to treat) is an indicator of a treatment’s impact, calculated as the difference between rates in control groups and treated groups for certain outcomes.

Medication

Medication is a type of medicine that treats illness or disease. There are various medications designed to address specific medical problems or conditions, including antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and others. Medication may also be prescribed to relieve specific forms of pain such as headaches or backache.

Medication can be an invaluable aid in treating depression and anxiety when taken in conjunction with psychotherapy. Antidepressants can help by blocking specific brain receptors. Popular examples are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Celexa, Prozac, Lexapro and Paxil; serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), such as Cymbalta, Effexor and Pristiq are other possible choices; typically SSRIs should be first chosen among people suffering severe depression.

There are various anti-anxiety medications, each working differently. For instance, benzodiazepines can be very effective at treating panic attacks; however, they can become habit-forming and cause unpleasant side effects. Anti-anxiety drugs tend to be safer and less addictive alternatives to benzodiazepines.

Most medications come in various forms, such as liquids, tablets and capsules. Liquids combine water and an active substance while tablets can be chewed or swallowed whole; other substances can also be added such as sugar or colouring to make taking medication easier or faster. There are even dispersible tablets which dissolve when submerged in liquid.

Every medication can cause side effects, and it’s essential that you understand them and when to seek assistance if they become bothersome. Furthermore, it is a good idea to review all medicines- including non-prescription and complementary medicine- for use-by dates regularly.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy (also referred to as talk therapy or counseling) provides people with tools for dealing with various mental health conditions and life issues, from anxiety management to more serious conditions like depression or bipolar disorder. Psychotherapy may be part of an overall treatment plan alongside medications or used alone – it’s important that you find someone that you trust as part of this journey.

Numerous types of psychotherapy exist, from individual, family and group sessions to art, music and animal-assisted therapies. Most clinicians offer various approaches and will tailor treatments specifically to your situation, needs and cultural background.

Psychotherapy comes in various forms. Some forms are designed for short-term solutions to particular concerns or challenges (like managing illness or divorce), while other types focus more on personality growth and change such as humanistic psychoanalysis, dialectical behavior therapy or interpersonal therapy.

Interpersonal psychotherapy is a short-term form of therapy that addresses how social circumstances and relationships impact moods. It’s used to address problems like unresolved grief, changes to work or social roles and conflicts with others; additionally it may assist people dealing with substance abuse issues or eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia.

Other types of psychotherapy services available to families and couples include family and couples therapy, child-parent psychotherapy, parent management training and art or music therapy for children with emotional or behavioral difficulties. Psychotherapists may use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to teach patients how to challenge negative thinking patterns. A therapist might encourage their patient to journal as an effective means of identifying dysfunctional beliefs that cause anxiety; gradually replacing these thoughts and beliefs with healthier ones eventually becoming effective – this may take a few sessions and/or homework between sessions in order to be fully effective.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an effective short-term solution for anxiety and depression. This psychotherapy teaches you how to identify and adapt to specific challenges so you can live a happier, healthier life. CBT may be combined with antidepressant medication or other treatments as necessary.

CBT focuses on changing unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving by providing structured yet shorter sessions than other forms of talk therapy and often more cost-effective than psychotherapy treatments. Sessions usually last an hour each week with clients being assigned homework tasks between sessions.

Track your behavior and symptoms over time by keeping a diary or journal and sharing this with your therapist. By tracking these activities over time, you will become better acquainted with maladaptive thought processes as well as developing problem-solving abilities that can be applied in other circumstances.

Over the course of therapy, you’ll explore what’s triggering your anxiety and panic attacks. People suffering from panic disorders are known to exaggerate normal body sensations by exaggerating them; this type of thinking is known as “distorted catastrophic thinking”, and it can be treated effectively using cognitive behavior therapy.

Other techniques you might learn include mindfulness, which involves paying attention to thoughts and emotions without judgement, exposure and response prevention (ERP), which is used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which encourages patients to accept negative thoughts and emotions instead of fighting them. Marsha Linehan developed DBT; DBT is another form of CBT which encourages acceptance instead of fighting.

Psychological and behavioural therapy offers many different approaches, making it essential to find one which suits you. You can do this by asking your GP for a referral or searching online. Many therapists offer discounted rates for shorter sessions or sliding scale pricing depending on income to make therapy more affordable; additionally you may want to check whether or not your insurer covers mental health services before attending sessions.

EMDR

EMDR therapy is widely known for treating trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but it’s also effective at treating other mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression and behavioral problems. This therapy works by changing negative thoughts and emotions associated with specific memories to allow the brain to process the event internally without being overwhelmed by emotional and physical responses when recalling it.

At the outset of EMDR therapy, your therapist will ask you to think back on an experience which evoked unpleasant emotions or body sensations and identify a positive belief to replace it with. External stimuli, such as eye movements or hand tapping will then help reprogram mental processes while you explore your past memories.

After your first session, your therapist will evaluate what was accomplished during therapy and assess your progress. They may determine that other targeted memories or situations that trigger emotions need further work; additionally they’ll ascertain any new symptoms that have surfaced since your visit.

EMDR involves two distinct phases. In phase two, you focus on a memory while following your therapist’s finger as it moves back and forth across your field of vision. Some experts believe this stimulation reactivates areas of your brain that had been shut off as a coping mechanism during traumatic events. As a result, any negative emotions and memories related to those events are processed differently within your brain, enabling you to view them more objectively.

Third and fourth phases require you to repeat this process for other negative beliefs and body sensations until all negative emotions have been processed. Once complete, your therapist may ask you to focus on strengthening a positive belief or strengthening an existing positive belief while rating how each set of EMDR sessions has made you feel.

EMDR can be an effective treatment for anxiety and depression when combined with psychotherapy and medication. However, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t work immediately, requiring significant time commitment from patients who have tried other therapies or medications without success. Regardless, it remains an option that offers potential relief.