Mental health practitioners
Click on the type of practitioner from the table below to learn about the general description for the nature of the service. Click the type of practitioner from the list on the right to find your local professional.
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Mental health is important to assure the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity. Throughout life we enter new stages of development that represent both loss and opportunity. Each stage has its own unique challenge. Issues facing seniors may include reflections on one's contribution to life, coping with loss and end of life concerns. Mental health counseling is specifically intended to help us face what life is calling us toward and it can help us find our courage along with a deep sense of meaning.
Mental health practitioners can help deal with many life issues including: aging & geriatrics; Alzheimer's Disease & other cognitive disorders; cancer; depression; death & dying; elder care & elder abuse; family & relationship Issues; grief & bereavement Issues; pain management; sexuality & sexual problems; sleep disorders and stress reduction & management. A detailed explanation of Mental Health Practitioners and Therapies may help clarify some of the distinctions amongst the major mental heath professionals.
Alternative mental health therapies emphasize the interrelationship between mind, body and spirit.
Anxiety disorders are disorders marked by physiological arousal, feelings of tension and intense apprehension without apparent reason. Use Peaceful against stress
Clinical Hypnotherapy - a therapist hypnotizes a patient so that they are in a deeply relaxed state in order to help them make therapeutic changes. Once the patient is in this state, he/she can be more open to making positive and beneficial changes. Being hypnotized is a pleasant experience which takes you into a state of relaxation and heightens your awareness of everything around you. During the process, the therapist takes you into this deeper state of consciousness so that you can access the subconscious mind which you are not normally aware of. The subconscious mind stores information and details that the conscious mind doesn’t so the therapist works on this deeper level to address the root of whatever it is you are experiencing as a problem. The therapist can help to bring about change in your ideas, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. You are always in control and after the experience you can remember everything that happened while you were under hypnosis.
Cognitive therapy - Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a relatively short-term, focused psychotherapy for a wide range of psychological problems including depression, anxiety, anger, marital conflict,loneliness, panic, fears, eating disorders, alcohol and substance abuse or dependency and personality problems. The focus of therapy is on how you are thinking, behaving, and communicating today rather than on your early childhood experiences. The therapist assists the patient in identifying specific distortions (using cognitive assessment and biases in thinking and provides guidance on how to change this thinking.
Dance/Movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of individuals.
Energy psychotherapy makes use of several dynamic, effective "user friendly" therapeutic techniques based on an understanding of the body's bioenergy systems.
Existential psychotherapy finds the complexities of human life at the heart of distress in our lives and works with meaning and relationships to make things go better. This includes he “big” questions of human life (i.e., questions related to meaning, to separateness and connection, to the potentials and limits of life) that are often found in the worries, sorrows, struggles and possibilities that people talk about.
Geriatric psychology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders that may occur in older adults including difficulty in coping with change, stress, death, depression, memory problems, anxiety, agitation associated with dimentia or poor sleep.
Humanistic Psychology focuses on each individual’s potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization. The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good, with mental and social problems resulting from deviations from this natural tendency.
Life transition coaching can help move forward and overcome changes in your life that seem overwhelming.
Loss and grief counseling provides support and understanding as you move through the personal process of envisioning life without the loved one. Grief counseling is never about minimizing the loss you are experiencing, and it is never about minimizing you as a person. A therapist will meet you where you are, and help guide you through the next step, towards a better life, moving through this time of pain and being able to find some joy in your life again.
Marriage and family therapists treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems and child-parent problems. They are trained in psychotherapy and family systems to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.
Men's Health - a specialized treatment to deal with the emotional reaction to various diagnoses such as diabetes, heart disease, prostate cancer or other sexual health issues common to men.
Psychiatrist - A Medical Doctor who has completed special training in mental and emotional disorders. A psychiatrist may prescribe medications for the treatment of psychological disorders.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is part of a humanistic and contemporary psychoanalytic perspective, seeks a deeper understanding of the question of what it is to be a human being in our contemporary world. It provides space for individuals to pursue their dreams, their individual life stories and their unique development. This of course also includes an exploration of their interactions with others.
Psychologist - A doctoral-level clinician trained in the scientific study of behavior of individuals and their mental processes by means of psychological and neuropsychological assessment, psychotherapy and research.
Psychotherapy - Any of a group of therapies used to treat psychological disorders, the goal of which is to change faulty behaviors, thoughts, perceptions and emotions that may be associated with specific disorders.
Sex therapy is a type of psychotherapy to address concerns about sexual function, sexual feelings and intimacy — either in individual therapy or in therapy with a partner. Sex therapy can be an effective resource for adults of any age, gender or sexual orientation
Social workers, also known as clinical social workers, specialize in mental health assessment and treat problems including mental illness. Such services include individual and group therapy, outreach, crisis intervention, social rehabilitation and teaching skills needed for everyday living, relationships, and personal and family problems. A social worker may have the expertise and resources to help resolve issues, including organization of support groups, to deal with: inadequate housing; long-term care; caregiver support; and similar areas especially relevant to the senior population.
Somatic psychology incorporates the body into psychological investigations and considers bodily states of postures, habits, rhythms, energetic qualities and gestures as a potential part of the therapy process which considers the whole person as relevant to psycho-emotional life.
