Specialised Care
FAQ Mental health
- Q.1- What types of mental health problems are there?
- Q.2- How many people experience mental health problems?
- Q.3- Do young people get the help they need?
- Q.4- What type of treatments and therapies are there for mental health problems?
Q.1- What types of mental health problems are there?
A.1- Despite the controversy surrounding the definition and the term 'mental illness': mental health problems still usually remain in the province of psychiatry, and hence are mainly discussed in medical terms.
The broad distinctions are used to classify different types of mental illness.
The first distinguishes organic and functional psychiatric disorders. 'Organic' disorders result directly from identifiable brain malfunction. 'Functional' means that the disorder is not due to simple structural abnormalities of the brain. A disorder may devlop suddenly, or over a prolonged period, in some cases total recovery is possible with treatment. If, however, the damage is irreversible, treatment is aimed at assisting the person to cope with his/her disability, and trying to prevent further deterioration.
The second distinguishes neurosis from psychosis. 'Neurosis' describes various forms of anxiety and depression that can be regarded as severe forms of normal experiences. 'Psychosis' is even more severe and involves distortion of a person's perception of reality, often accompanied by delusions and/or hallucinations. Not all diagnosis of mental ill-health can be classified as either neurosis or psychosis. For example, the diagnosis of 'personality disorder' falls outside these categorisations. In other diagnosis, such as 'post-traumatic stress disorder' there may be an overlap between so-called neurotic and psychotic symptoms.
Q.2- How many people experience mental health problems?
A.2- Anyone can experience a mental health problem. On average one person in four will experience some kind of mental health problem during a year. However, a much smaller number of people will be diagnosed with a serious and enduring mental health problem. For example, an estimated 1 in 10 people will have some form of depression at any one time, whilst an estimated 1 in 20 people will have serious or 'clinical' depression.
Q.3- Do young people get the help they need?
A.3- Generally young people recently researched said that they did not get the support they needed. The difficulties they faced included long delays in getting help, waiting lists, not being understood, being passed between services and professionals, their family denying the existence of a problem, and sometimes feeling intimidated by psychiatrists. Responces from GP's were frequently sited by young people as a difficulty in getting the help they needed in times of crisis.
Those who did get the help, highlighted what was useful. Clearly the most important factor was having someone to talk to and listen to them. This was especially useful when young people felt the person has some personal similar experience. Support, understanding, love and care were also very important. Medication was also viewed as helpful by some young people, as well as counselling and specific interventions, to help with drug and alcohol problems.
Q.4- What type of treatments and therapies are there for mental health problems?
A.4- Treatments for mental health problems take many different forms, including medication, psychotherapy, complimentary therapies and self help strategies. It is worth bearing in mind that what works for one person may not work for another, some treatments work best in combination and even the same person may prefer different treatments at different points in his/her life.
What is clear is that, given appropriate information, the person with the mental health problem is usually in the best position to make a decision about what works best for him/her. It is unfortunate that many patients are not given the information they need to make that decision. It is also unfortunate that many professionals in mental health services still don't listen to what patients say about the kind of treatment they would prefer to receive or even whether they wish to recieve any treatment at all.
For further information, some useful sites are included below. Click on an address to go to the site.
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
http://www.mind.org.uk
