Exploring the Different Kinds of Mental Health Treatments

The list of mental illnesses is extensive and diverse, encompassing conditions from major depressive disorder to schizophrenia to bulimia nervosa. Similarly, the options for treatment of a mental illness are vast and multifaceted. When seeking treatment, many different resources and individuals, including your primary care doctor, psychiatrist, and larger organizations like NAMI and MHA, can assist you in selecting the right treatment. However, being well-informed about the various mental health treatment options is crucial to making the best decision for your individual needs.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, is one of the most common types of mental health treatment and can be divided into several types. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) focuses on teaching coping skills and adjusting negative thinking habits and is often effective in individuals with depression and anxiety. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) aims to improve interpersonal functioning in order to treat a range of disorders, including bulimia nervosa and a range of mood disorders. Other forms of psychotherapy include group therapy, humanistic therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Because there are so many different forms of psychotherapy, it’s imperative to research the benefits and mechanisms to determine which would be most effective for you. 

Medication

Often combined with psychotherapy, medication can be one of the most effective types of mental health treatments. The medications used to treat mental illness work by adjusting the levels of chemicals in the brain, like serotonin. The most common medications can be divided into four main groups: antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and anxiolytics. Each of these can be further divided; for example, antidepressants encompass SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, and TCAs, and SSRIs include medications like fluoxetine, citalopram, and escitalopram. With so many options, it can be difficult to know which medication is right for you, but by working with a mental health professional, and through trial and error, you can help learn which medication works best for your condition. Click here for a more detailed guide to choosing the right mental health medication. 

Brain Stimulation

Different forms of brain stimulation include electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). ECT involves passing electrical currents through the brain under general anesthesia to induce changes in brain chemistry, while TMS uses magnetic fields to achieve similar effects and is considered a painless procedure. Although the exact mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of brain stimulation are still being studied, both ECT and TMS have shown significant success in treating depression. Additionally, they have been used to address other conditions such as addiction, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. Typically, these treatments are considered after psychotherapy and medication have not yielded sufficient results. However, due to their high effectiveness—ECT is believed to be effective in up to 80% of patients—their use may become more widespread in the future.

Alternative Therapies

There are a variety of alternative therapies used to treat mental illness. While these therapies may not have strong clinical evidence demonstrating their effectiveness, they are often more budget-friendly than the previously mentioned treatments. Meditation, aromatherapy,  acupuncture, massage, and nutrition supplements are all examples of alternative therapies. When used in conjunction with other treatments, these methods can help individuals with mental illness by reducing stress and negative symptoms. 

Other

For individuals with a mental illness, it is important to emphasize that no two treatment plans are the same. Many plans combine multiple forms of treatment or add in additional interventions, including creative therapy, hypnotherapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. While it's impossible to cover all the diverse treatments for mental illness in a single article, exploring the primary forms of mental health treatments is an essential first step toward finding the right approach for each person.