Mental Health, Medication & the Power of Talk (Part 2)

"Although many psychological problems may be expressed physically, the only long-term effective treatment is a psychological approach."

As consumers of healthcare, we’ve been taught to expect quick fixes from our physicians. In part, this is because we live in a culture, the so-called fast food culture, that has come to expect near instant results. In the healthcare field, much of the responsibility for expecting perfect quick fixes, lies with the American Medical Association (AMA). For more than a century, the AMA has worked to elevate its member’s status to that of all-knowing, all-seeing demi-gods. Perhaps "demi-gods" is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not that far off from the truth.

Having your physician hold themselves in such high self-esteem does hold some advantages. For example, if you need surgery, you definitely want a surgeon whose ego is sufficiently large enough to give them the confidence that they’ll need to take you to the edge of death and bring you back to the world of the living. You want a steady hand holding that knife!

As with most everything, there are disadvantages as well. Physicians are trained to view healthcare concerns as having physical, not psychological, causes. Granted, there has been some shift in this thinking over the last couple of decades. However, when you visit your physician, whether it’s for a physical or psychological concern, treatment will be physical. Have a fever? Take some ibuprofen. Are your back muscles tensed up? Here are some muscle relaxants. Feeling skittish and jumpy? Here’s a prescription for some Xanax.

Drugs can sometimes cure problems. If you have a bacterial infection, antibiotics can cure it. Vaccinations can prevent contracting some of the most devastating diseases. In the majority of cases, however, drugs only treat the symptoms. You may relieve the tension in your back, but you still haven’t addressed the stress that’s causing it. Sleeping aids may help you overcome your insomnia, while anti-anxiety drugs, e.g. Xanax, may reduce your anxious symptoms. Unless you treat the underlying causes, you will be doomed to a lifetime of taking drugs to reduce the symptoms. Many psychological problems may be expressed physically. This, plus the belief that "I don’t need to talk to someone," leads folk to seek out physicians for drugs that promise to quickly "fix" their psychological needs. This attitude is at the root of the problem with our current healthcare system.

We are taught that our physician is our primary caretaker. This is fine when we have a physical problem with a physical cause. However, when we have a mental-emotional problem, the only long-term effective treatment is a psychological approach. Receiving physical treatments for something that is psychological doesn’t make sense. The evidence shows that, other than in a few exceptions, drug therapy for psychological problems is effective only in reducing some symptoms and may help some clients to become more receptive to psychotherapy. The problem is that treating mental-emotional illness like a bacterial infection by prescribing a drug and sending the person home may mean that the person may never receive the help that they need in order to improve.

Vic Lebouthillier and his team at the Alive for Wellness Centre are keenly aware of this disconnect in our healthcare system. They are firm believers and advocates of the idea that level 5 psychological, emotional, and relationship issues require a level 5 approach. It is for this reason that they have integrated the cutting-edge findings of the advanced behavioural sciences into the Alive program so as to benefit Alive clients in being successful in achieving their psychological goals.

If you are struggling with your mental health and if, instead of using drugs that’ll only keep you going from moment to moment, you want an approach that has a proven track record of helping people to put their struggles behind them, then you should consider the Alive for Wellness program. To learn more about how the Alive for Wellness program can help you or a loved one overcome a mental or emotional health or relationship struggle, please contact our Clinical Director, Mr. Victor Camille Lebouthillier, by phone at 250-862-1927 or by email; vic@strongmentalhealth.net. or visit www.aliveforwellness.com for more information.

Victor Camille Lebouthillier is President of Health Factors where he leads a team of clinical researchers whose focus is keeping abreast of the latest findings in the field of advanced behavioral science, to increase treatment effectiveness.