The benefits of having psychotherapeutic and psychiatric care

Many times it is assumed that psychotherapy and psychiatric treatments are two ways of working opposite, which compete with each other when it comes to improving the well-being of people and ensuring their health mental.

However, the truth is that the idea that these two forms of intervention in patients are mutually exclusive does not make sense. Today it is known that combining both things helps a lot when treating certain disorders.

In this article we will see how patients benefit from the fact of have both psychotherapy and psychiatric support, and why in some cases it is the most recommended option.

• Related article: "The 8 benefits of going to psychological therapy"

The differences between the work of the psychologist and the psychiatrist

First of all, let's see what are the aspects in which psychiatric and psychotherapeutic interventions differ.

Psychotherapy is a concept that applies to the need to solve a wide variety of problems related to behavior, thinking and emotions.

This implies that it is not limited to offering services to people who have developed a psychological disorder; For example, there are people who go to psychological therapy to stop having low self-esteem, or to improve their communication or social skills, or even to better manage discussions of couple.

Furthermore, psychotherapy is fundamentally a learning process: patients learn both theoretical aspects of what happens and how they can solve it, as practical, about how to overcome that problem by adopting new habits and styles of thought.

On the other hand, psychiatry proposes resources from the world of medicine, since after all, psychiatrists are doctors specialized in mental health. For this reason, they work in cases in which there is (or may be) a disorder, which is why they care for people whose quality of life is being significantly affected on a regular basis.

It is very frequent that the use of psychotropic drugs is proposed, although always strictly following their instructions, since these products may have side effects that must be taken into account.

• You may be interested in: "Types of psychoactive drugs: uses and side effects"

The benefits of having psychiatric and psychotherapeutic support

These are the main advantages of having help through both combined channels, psychotherapeutic and psychiatric.

1. Psychiatric support helps to meet the goals of psychotherapy

Sometimes the symptoms of the disorder that affect the patient are so intense that it makes it difficult for him to reach the goals set in psychotherapy, or even prevent you from concentrating and understanding what you have to do.

In these cases, the use of drugs or other tools of psychiatry may allow reach a point where the discomfort is reduced enough to be able to get involved with the tasks associated with psychological therapya, and from there, continue to improve.

2. Psychiatric intervention helps a lot in crisis

In cases of acute discomfort, in which it is a priority to reduce the discomfort as soon as possible, the psychiatric intervention may offer somewhat faster ways of acting than psychotherapy. And once that phase has passed, having a psychiatric professional allows early detection of signs that another crisis of this type could arise.

• You may be interested in: "Major Depression: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment"

3. The combined use of both interventions intensifies their effects.

On many occasions in which there are severe psychiatric or psychological disorders, the effects of psychotherapy and psychiatric intervention are mutually reinforcing in terms of consistency of patient improvement. They feel better, and more consistently.

4. Psychological support helps to commit to both therapies

Finally, psychotherapy predisposes patients to commit more to their well-being improvement and recovery process, so that its effects extend beyond the motivation to continue going to the psychologist (as long as necessary) and also encompasses commitment to the psychiatric path.

Are you looking for professional help from psychotherapy and psychiatry?

If you live in the Madrid area and are interested in having professional support in which there is the possibility of have psychotherapeutic and psychiatric help, we invite you to contact us, the professionals of Advance Psychologists.

For more than two decades, our center has offered comprehensive mental health care, and today Today we have a great team of therapists, including psychiatry and therapy services. psychological.

You can find us in the center of Madrid at Calle Alcalá nº165, or contact us online. Our contact details are available at this page.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association (1993). Practice guideline for major depressive disorder in adults. American Journal of Psychiatry 150(suppl 4): 1-26.
• Huhn, M.; Tardy, M.; Spineli, L.M. (2014). Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy for Adult Psychiatric Disorders A Systematic Overview of Meta-analyses. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(6): pp. 706 - 715.
• Rounsaville, B.J.; Klerman, G.L.; Weissman, M.M. (1981). Do psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for depression conflict? Empirical evidence from a clinical trial. Archives of General Psychiatry 38:pp. 24 - 29.