Life coaching or psychotherapy
Communities have always respected the fact that at times we all need an objective person to help us through tough situations. That might have been a wise woman or man, the local shaman, a clergy person, another community healer, or some other person in one’s community. In many communities today we are limited to licensed therapists or counselors who diagnose and treat mental illness or coach one through a tough time in one’s life.
When living with a mental illness one hires a trained professional - psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, therapist, psychiatric social worker, addiction counselor – who diagnoses and explains what is happening with one’s brain and the options for treating the symptoms and the illness itself. If the professional is not a psychiatrist who can prescribe medication, one may then be referred to see a psychiatrist to determine/make an educated guess as to how and when medication might be helpful. One will also need to see their family doctor to determine if the symptoms are the result of a treatable malfunction such as a thyroid disorder, a tumor, or an infection which affects how one’s brain works. If one has a chronic mental illness medication can only do so much. Other health related habits such as exercise, good nutrition, spiritual support, and emotional support can also help one’s body cope with any illness. Mental illness often distorts how one experiences and perceives oneself and the world. Talk therapy or counseling can help one identify and correct the distortions or outright lies. Clinical depression, for example, chemically blocks out the automatic experience of color and movement. One is unable to experience the positives or the fact that there is movement in time. Thus one may have a day during which the world seems negative but if not suffering from a mental illness one knows that yesterday was positive and there will be many positive tomorrows. Clinical depression make it seems as if all days have been and will be negative. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help one identify and correct the lies thus allowing one to move forward with life. Traumas including combat, domestic violence, sexual abuse and other life experiences can also lead to a distorted thinking process. While mediation may help the brain function better it may take a lot of guidance and practice to change the habits of thinking one stores prior to the illness being treated. A trained therapist or counselor can also often recommended alternative treatments which might be beneficial.
In order for an insurance company to pay for counseling there has to be a mental illness diagnosis which is listed in the official Diagnostic Manual (DSM). Sometimes a therapist or a counselor will use a diagnosis which seems consistent with the symptoms but the symptoms are the result of a life event which the individual is struggling to incorporate into their llfe journey. This may be a death, a divorce, a discovery about oneself or a family member or some other difficult life event. One does not have a mental illness but one may need guidance and support. For lack of a better term many are calling this life coaching. I sometimes tell people that they do indeed need some support or guidance but they do not need therapy or counseling for a mental illness. The good news is that if one does not have a mental illness diagnosis one does not have to report life coaching to life insurance companies, potential employers or others. One can honestly report that one has not received treatment for a mental illness. The only negative is that, of course. health insurance does not pay for life coaching. When I am seeing someone for coaching I see them for a fee that they can afford. One can refer to the section of this web page under fees which describes my fee policy in more detail. Some religious organizations will provide life coaching free of charge.
A trained professional will do their best to help one determine whether one needs life coaching or treatment for a mental illness. The more history one can provide the professional about the history of one’s symptoms the more likely the professional can give one an educated guess about the help one needs.
Communities have always respected the fact that at times we all need an objective person to help us through tough situations. That might have been a wise woman or man, the local shaman, a clergy person, another community healer, or some other person in one’s community. In many communities today we are limited to licensed therapists or counselors who diagnose and treat mental illness or coach one through a tough time in one’s life.
When living with a mental illness one hires a trained professional - psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, therapist, psychiatric social worker, addiction counselor – who diagnoses and explains what is happening with one’s brain and the options for treating the symptoms and the illness itself. If the professional is not a psychiatrist who can prescribe medication, one may then be referred to see a psychiatrist to determine/make an educated guess as to how and when medication might be helpful. One will also need to see their family doctor to determine if the symptoms are the result of a treatable malfunction such as a thyroid disorder, a tumor, or an infection which affects how one’s brain works. If one has a chronic mental illness medication can only do so much. Other health related habits such as exercise, good nutrition, spiritual support, and emotional support can also help one’s body cope with any illness. Mental illness often distorts how one experiences and perceives oneself and the world. Talk therapy or counseling can help one identify and correct the distortions or outright lies. Clinical depression, for example, chemically blocks out the automatic experience of color and movement. One is unable to experience the positives or the fact that there is movement in time. Thus one may have a day during which the world seems negative but if not suffering from a mental illness one knows that yesterday was positive and there will be many positive tomorrows. Clinical depression make it seems as if all days have been and will be negative. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help one identify and correct the lies thus allowing one to move forward with life. Traumas including combat, domestic violence, sexual abuse and other life experiences can also lead to a distorted thinking process. While mediation may help the brain function better it may take a lot of guidance and practice to change the habits of thinking one stores prior to the illness being treated. A trained therapist or counselor can also often recommended alternative treatments which might be beneficial.
In order for an insurance company to pay for counseling there has to be a mental illness diagnosis which is listed in the official Diagnostic Manual (DSM). Sometimes a therapist or a counselor will use a diagnosis which seems consistent with the symptoms but the symptoms are the result of a life event which the individual is struggling to incorporate into their llfe journey. This may be a death, a divorce, a discovery about oneself or a family member or some other difficult life event. One does not have a mental illness but one may need guidance and support. For lack of a better term many are calling this life coaching. I sometimes tell people that they do indeed need some support or guidance but they do not need therapy or counseling for a mental illness. The good news is that if one does not have a mental illness diagnosis one does not have to report life coaching to life insurance companies, potential employers or others. One can honestly report that one has not received treatment for a mental illness. The only negative is that, of course. health insurance does not pay for life coaching. When I am seeing someone for coaching I see them for a fee that they can afford. One can refer to the section of this web page under fees which describes my fee policy in more detail. Some religious organizations will provide life coaching free of charge.
A trained professional will do their best to help one determine whether one needs life coaching or treatment for a mental illness. The more history one can provide the professional about the history of one’s symptoms the more likely the professional can give one an educated guess about the help one needs.