In the modern psychiatric treatment, the ball starts rolling with psychological counselling. Usually, when someone behaves in an odd manner, or feels anxious or depressed at all times, family members and friends notice the change in behaviour. The person concerned is not the one who can notice subtle changes in their way of life. They feel that things are the same. But people around notice the changes. Then, these people are taken to a psychologist.
One of the main pillars of modern psychiatric treatment is psychotherapy. The psychiatrist delves deep into the mind of the person concerned to find out why they are acting in a particular manner. Psychotherapy is usually preceded by psychoanalysis. That includes studying the patient’s relationship with their parents, family members, friends and the society at large. Questions are asked and answered about their childhood, their fears and their causes of anxiety. Analysis brings out facts about the patient that helps in the treatment.
One major shift in the modern psychiatry from their past version is the use of medication. Previously, medications were not authorized to be used for mental issues. Now, psychoactive drugs are licensed for use when they are prescribed by psychiatrists. Antidepressants are quite popularly prescribed for clinical depression and anxiety disorders. Additionally, anxiolytics are also used in a short-term basis for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Another genre of medication pertains to psychiatric problems that affect the mood of a person. The most common example is that or bipolar disorder. In this case, the person swings from a state of great happiness to one of bottomless grief, often in a matter of minutes. Mood stabilizers, a kind of drug, are used to treat bipolar patients. For more serious psychiatric condition, like schizophrenia, antipsychotic drugs are quite useful. Stimulants, like ADHD, are also in the loop to treat such cases.
It is erroneous to think that the use of electric currents to treat mental disorder is out of the picture in the modern era. Electroconvulsive therapy or ECT is prescribed in the rare cases where all other forms of treatment have been unresponsive. Brain surgery, termed psychosurgery, is an option open for such cases.
There is room for creative therapy in modern psychiatric treatment. Art of music therapy is finding many followers across the globe. Music and art have a calming influence on the mind and fights attacks of depression or anxiety. Psychiatrists also ask patients to change their lifestyle, sometimes their jobs or careers, when they interfere with their treatment and the road to recovery.
