Four Treatment Options For Adolescents With Mental Health Disorders
Preteens and adolescents with mental health disorders can get help in a variety of ways. While parents may not know how to deal with such problems, the good news is that depending on the severity of the condition, there are a number of options that doctors can use to treat such disorders. In this article, we look at some approaches that are used for mental health treatment for adolescents.
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy
This is usually abbreviated to ACT and is a tangent of cognitive behavior therapy. The approach is based on mindfulness and seeks to change how your child perceives the outside world. In particular, it aims to train your child to learn how to accept things that are beyond their control and to have a greater sense of control over how they respond to the events happening around them. Part of this is by learning to accept their emotional reactions to events around them, rather than try to stifle or deny them.
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy is a part of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and focuses on behavioral changes that will help your child cope with the circumstances that they are facing. The approach aims to equip your child with healthy coping skills that allow them to deal with any situation without resorting to harmful habits such as drug or alcohol use.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is based on the principle that the way we think (cognition) plays a large part in how we feel and in turn, this affects how we behave. By changing our cognitive patterns, we are able to change our emotions and our behavior. Unhelpful thinking patterns such as insecurities, fear, or anxiety can have a profound effect on how we behave. When a child is able to link their thinking patterns with their behavior, they are then able to begin to change these harmful patterns. That is because for most children, this thinking-behavior pattern often flies under the radar and they are usually not even conscious of it. When it is brought to the fore by skilled mental health experts, your child is able to begin to break these patterns and live a significantly healthier life.
Counseling
This is a one-on-one talking therapy where a trained counselor or therapist is able to help your child work through their problems. Counseling offers your child a safe, non-judgmental space where they can open up and discuss their fears and any other issue that may be affecting them. The counselor typically controls the direction of the conversion, ensuring that the child can open up and talk through their problems. When we express ourselves, we are typically able to look at things objectively and solutions that were not apparent to us can become evident after such a session. The counselor is also able to use their skills to help the child explore areas of their thoughts and feelings that may give your child helpful insights as to their emotions and behavior.
