3 Reasons Why Individualized Mental Health Care is Essential

3 Reasons Why Individualized Mental Health Care is Essential

As Mental Health Care Awareness Month ends, I would like to discuss 3 reasons why individualized mental health care is a necessary factor in understanding each person’s mental health symptoms from their own unique perspective, rather than a label/stereotype (for example, depression, anxiety or bipolar). I will go into length in #3 below describing one misunderstood and wrongly diagnosed mental illness- Bipolar Disorder.

1. Just as no 2 people share the same DNA, mental illness does not look the same for any 2 people. So, comments such as, “I’ve been depressed before so I know what it feels like” can be both condescending and unhelpful. Understanding mental illness requires empathy, non-judgment and active listening from both the mental health provider as well as an individual’s friends/family. Depression and anxiety have significant overlap and include some of the same symptoms. Therefore, understanding exactly what the symptoms are and how they are impacting the individual’s life is essential.
2. My goal and passion in my practice is to work with each person in a collaborative manner by understanding each individual – not just a diagnosis (e.g., depression, anxiety, etc.). While diagnosis is helpful for understanding what brought someone into my office and for treatment purposes, it is only one factor of many that may be causing someone distress. Many other factors including current and previous relationships, unique temperament or personality, and experience with previous mental health treatment all influence how an individual’s mental illness is affecting them.
3. Some labels/stereotypes cause significant problems in a person’s treatment and ability to recover from their mental illness. For example, one label I have seen applied way too often without appropriate assessment and/or follow-up is Bipolar Disorder. Too many times this label is placed on an individual by a friend, family member or even a healthcare professional with out enough evidence (clinical data) to support the diagnosis. Unfortunately, individuals are usually prescribed very strong “mood stabilizing or antipsychotic” medications that have side effects such as difficulty thinking or expressing emotions/feelings. Therefore, an incorrect diagnosis can be very traumatic and lead to significant problems in important areas of life including employment and relationships.

Bipolar Disorder is a real and sometimes challenging disorder to diagnose and treat. My goal is to ensure that there is adequate data to support the diagnosis by looking at the individual’s current symptoms, history of symptoms as well as family history since we know that many mental health conditions tend to be hereditary. Like most mental health problems, Bipolar Disorder is generally something you are born with (a chemical imbalance in your brain) and if you look closely at your childhood through adulthood, there generally will be signs/symptoms of the disorder. It is important to understand that what may constitute a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder as an adult, does not always look the same as a child or teenager due to developmental changes.

Just to recap- understanding and treating mental illness requires attention to specific symptoms, how those symptoms impact the individual’s daily life activities and most importantly non-judgment, empathy and active listening. Just like with a medical illness such as diabetes, you constantly check your blood sugar, have lab work and meet with your doctor to discuss how the treatment is working. This needs to be the same for mental illness as well. I hope you have found this article informative and please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Take care,

Joe