Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is among the list of therapeutic modalities KindlyMD therapists are trained in. Despite being one of the most utilized therapies in modern mental health, so many people either know nothing about CBT or misunderstand what it is.
We hope to clear up some of the confusion by educating our patients about CBT. This post may be a starting point for you. CBT is an extremely helpful therapy for a variety of mental health conditions. But even people without diagnosed conditions can benefit from it.
The first thing to know is that CBT is a talking therapy. Its roots go back millennia. However, the modern practice of CBT was first developed in the 1950s as a potential means of modifying learning and behavior by paying attention to cognition.
In the simplest possible terms, CBT is rooted in thoughts – i.e., cognition. A person's thoughts on any particular matter influence feelings and behaviors. So by changing one's thoughts and behaviors, one can also change the way they feel. It is an oversimplification but one that illustrates the basic premise of CBT well enough.
People once thought of CBT as being suitable only for people with severe mental illness. We no longer believe that to be true. In fact, CBT has proven itself helpful in so many ways. Here are just a few examples:
CBT has also been harnessed to help manage physical symptoms. For example, CBT is now a common tool in pain medicine to help manage chronic pain. It can be used in the treatment of PTSD, eating disorders, sleep disorders, and many more.
Here's something else fascinating about CBT: unlike many other types of psychotherapy, CBT is not open ended. It is goal oriented and time limited. Complete the goals and you complete the therapy.
Although therapists are free to conduct CBT with some flexibility, most follow a general 4-step process as follows:
One last thing to note as we close this post is that CBT tends to run a course of 5-20 sessions. At the conclusion, a patient should walk away thinking differently and, when necessary, coping more effectively.
So there you have it. Now you know the basics of CBT. It is one of a number of therapies we offer at KindlyMD. We'd be happy to sit and discuss it in more depth if you think you might benefit from our mental health services.
It has been estimated that upwards of 6% of the U.S. population will experience PTSD at least once in their lives. Interestingly, PTSD does not have to be a permanent condition. For most people, it is not. They eventually recover and get back to life as normal. But for those for whom PTSD is a permanent thing, management is critical.
One of the questions we get asked a lot, at least in terms of obtaining a Utah Med Card, is whether there are alternative therapies for managing PTSD. In a word, yes. The Utah Med Card represents just one of them. Every case of PTSD doesn't have to be treated with either a prescription or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It is not that either of those options is bad or inappropriate. Rather, it is simply that there are other options available.
Known formally as post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by some sort of event traumatic enough to have a lasting impact on mental health. It is most often associated with active military service. In that regard, the condition existed long before we began calling it PTSD.
Soldiers returning from WWI and WWII were said to be suffering from battle fatigue if they exhibited PTSD symptoms. But even as far back as the mid-19th century, the condition was observed among soldiers. Perhaps that's why we associate PTSD with military service.
Nonetheless, PTSD can be triggered by all sorts of traumatic events, including:
It is also worth noting that an individual does not have to experience the traumatic event firsthand. Just watching it unfold can be enough to trigger PTSD. If PTSD is severe enough, it can completely disrupt a person's life. It can even damage relationships.
Unfortunately, not all our attempts to treat PTSD have worked. Over the last hundred years or so, we have tried a combination of prescription medications and psychotherapy. Some combinations have worked quite well while others have not. In addition, it is no secret that people react differently to their treatments.
One of the alternative treatments that seems to be gaining traction is plant-based medicines made available through Med Cards. Here in Utah, PTSD is a qualifying condition for our Med Card program, and it’s the second most common condition for which patients receive Med Cards. Obtaining a card gives a PTSD patient access to medicines that are not available in any other way.
Will plant-based medicines do the trick all by themselves? There is no way to know for sure. Again, each PTSD patient responds to treatment differently. But if plant-based medicines are not enough, they can be combined with a variety of additional treatments. Here at Kindly MD, those treatments include mental health services provided by trained therapists.
Our philosophy is one of keeping an open mind regarding alternative treatments. We believe alternative treatments deserve more attention for one particularly important reason: getting better is the goal. Whether you are dealing with PTSD, chronic pain, cancer, or any other condition, you seek out healthcare services because you want to get better. We offer them because we want the same thing for you.
Maintaining a closed-minded approach to medicine does not help anyone. It certainly doesn't help a patient who has tried every conventional treatment without success. Fortunately, there are alternative treatments for most conditions. It is a matter of finding available treatments and then talking them over with a healthcare provider. We encourage doing just that if you have been diagnosed with PTSD.
KindlyMD's commitment to comprehensive care motivates us to offer mental health services from licensed therapists. Our therapists work with patients who need help with conditions ranging from anxiety to depression and PTSD. But there are times when therapy alone is not enough. At those times, therapist and patient can consider adding alternative medicines to the treatment plan.
Alternative medicines are not considered traditional treatments for the condition a therapist is addressing. Oftentimes, they involve getting a Utah Med Card that gives a patient access to plant-based medicines. Our commitment to providing comprehensive care means that we want our patients to have as many treatment options as possible.
It is important to make the point that a patient doesn't have to be struggling with a major issue to benefit from therapy and alternative medicines. Yes, some of our patients are struggling with the very real consequences of PTSD. But others are experiencing relationship stress or difficulty with parenting.
Believe it or not, just about everyone could benefit from a little bit of therapy. We live in a highly stressful world that can be overwhelming at times. A few sessions of therapy could be just what a person needs to get back on track. All of that notwithstanding, adding alternative medicines to a treatment plan can make all the difference in the world for some patients.
One of the more common therapy treatments for PTSD is something known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a talking therapy that focuses heavily on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Therapist and patient work together to understand why the patient thinks and feels the way he does. Then they draw correlations between those thoughts and feelings and the patient's behavior.
Ultimately, the goal is to introduce new ways of thinking that positively impact feelings and behaviors. And yet, PTSD is known for symptoms capable of affecting patients physically. When physical symptoms cannot be overcome with CBT alone, alternative medicines are another option.
Alternative medicines might be offered to relieve anxiety and the physical symptoms that come with it. Likewise for PTSD-related depression. If a plant-based medicine can reduce a patient's anxiety, other PTSD symptoms could be alleviated as well.
Some PTSD patients experience recurring flashbacks along with nightmares and insomnia. Unfortunately, frequent episodes can set up a recurring cycle that is hard to break. For example, a PTSD patient may have trouble sleeping due to nightmares. But the less sleep she gets, the more likely she is to experience additional nightmares along with the anxiety they produce. In turn, they affect her sleep even more.
Alternative medicines secured with a Utah Med Card can help break the cycle. They can help reduce anxiety and improve a patient's sleep. And with eight hours of quality sleep every night, PTSD symptoms are more likely to diminish.
PTSD is just one condition that could be treated with a combination of therapy and alternative medicines. Rather than dismissing the possibilities, we encourage you to at least talk about it with a trained therapist. KindlyMD therapists are ready and waiting to help.
When therapy isn't enough to help patients overcome their mental health challenges, care can often be enhanced with alternative medicines. Given that we focus on comprehensive care, we would be remiss by not considering those alternative meds.
Few things are as important to people as physical and mental health. How often do we hear people say something like, "you don't have anything if you don't have your health?" Enjoying good health is key to living the best life possible, which is why we include trauma-informed care (TIC) in our treatment approach.
Everything we do at KindlyMD revolves around helping patients feel better. We want patients to take control of their own healthcare while simultaneously utilizing the alternative treatments we recommend. But that is not possible if we, as medical providers, don't look at a patient's case from every angle. That leads us right back to TIC.
TIC takes a unique approach to healthcare by accounting for how trauma impacts a patient. Nearly everyone experiences trauma at some point in our lives. For many people, a significant trauma is serious enough to influence both physical and mental health. We need to account for that in creating tailored treatment plans and making recommendations for care.
Trauma-informed care isn't a single methodology or treatment protocol. It doesn't create a tunnel-visioned view of patient care. Quite to the contrary, TIC accounts for a variety of different factors that all work together to improve outcomes. TIC is built on five key principles:
When all five principles guide TIC, patients end up being treated as individuals with their own unique circumstances and needs. They are no longer just numbers on a daily patient load report. That's the way healthcare delivery should be.
We embrace trauma-informed care in all our clinics because we recognize that you are more than just your condition. Far too often, patients and medical providers do not think beyond the patient's condition and its immediate symptoms. The end result is a treatment with a single goal of alleviating those symptoms. We don't work that way here at KindlyMD.
In addition to the condition that you are suffering from, you have a medical and mental health history. You have a normal lifestyle and routine. You need to live your life according to your circumstances and surroundings. Trauma may or may not be part of the mix.
If there is trauma in your life, it could be affecting your physical and mental health. We want to be informed of that trauma so we can account for it in our tailored treatment plans.
Not all medical professionals practice trauma-informed care. There is nothing we can do about that. But at KindlyMD, TIC is part of our treatment approach. If you are dealing with chronic pain, PTSD, and other chronic conditions that often have trauma attached, we are here to help. We offer alternative treatments along with full support, education, and compassionate care.
At KindlyMD, we believe in holistic healthcare that encompasses not just the physical aspects but also the emotional and mental well-being of our patients. Today, we want to discuss a topic that often gets overlooked but is of paramount importance: the intersection of chronic pain and mental health. Emerging research is shedding light on the profound impact that mental health support can have on managing chronic pain effectively. Join us as we explore the connection and the benefits of a comprehensive approach to your well-being.
Chronic pain isn't just about physical discomfort; it can take a toll on your mental and emotional state. Studies have shown that individuals dealing with chronic pain often experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. This complex relationship creates a vicious cycle where the pain exacerbates mental health issues, and those issues, in turn, intensify the perception of pain.
A 2019 study published in the "Journal of Pain Research" found that chronic pain patients with comorbid anxiety or depression reported higher pain intensity and reduced quality of life compared to those without these mental health conditions. This highlights the need to address not just the physical symptoms but also the emotional well-being of chronic pain sufferers.
At KindlyMD, we understand the intricate connection between chronic pain and mental health. Our compassionate team of healthcare professionals is committed to providing comprehensive care, addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of your pain. Our personalized treatment plans include a combination of traditional medicine, alternative treatments, and mental health support to ensure you receive the holistic care you deserve.
Chronic pain is more than just physical discomfort; it's a complex experience that impacts every aspect of your life. The KindlyMD team is here to support you on your path to healing. Remember, you're not alone, and a comprehensive approach that includes mental health support can make all the difference. Let's work together towards a brighter, pain-free future. We can break the cycle of chronic pain and help you regain the quality of life you deserve. Contact us today or schedule now to embark on a journey toward healing, where your mental well-being is just as crucial as your physical health.
