When people first begin to experience mental health difficulties they may not be able to fathom what is happening. In several instances, people tend to deny that anything is wrong with them or even suppress information. Their reasons for doing this could be embarrassment, a sense of shame or fear of other people’s reactions. There is no denying the fact that mental health results in social stigma. Please remember that there is a lot of support available to help people recover from mental health problems – in terms of counseling, therapy, medication and treatment in hospital. Different treatments are recommended for different types of mental illnesses. With the right support, the majority of people with mental health problems will surely recover.

Mental health saps your energy, hope, ambition and drive, sometimes making it difficult to do even the normal day-to-day activities. Although overcoming depression may not be quick or easy, it certainly is not impossible. Feeling completely better may take time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of your loved ones. Recovering from depression calls for positive action but taking action when you’re depressed is hard. Some simple things you need to do are physical exercise, eating right food and rating regularly, sleeping at least for six hours, going out for walks in open areas, interacting with loved ones, avoiding loneliness, refusing to think negatively etc. .

All forms of mental illnesses are treatable if the patient receives competent professional care. Psychologists are among the licensed and highly trained mental health providers with years of experience studying depression and helping patients recover from it. Unfortunately, there is some social stigma associated with seeking help for emotional and mental health problems as feelings of depression often are viewed as a sign of weakness rather than as a signal that something is out of balance. Persons suffering from mental health who do not seek help suffer needlessly. Unexpressed feelings and concerns accompanied by a sense of isolation can worsen mental health. The importance of obtaining timely professional health care is the need of the only answer for mental maladies.

What is counseling?

Basically, counseling can be described as a type of talking therapy. It is usually delivered in a safe and private setting so that the individual concerned can relax and talk openly and freely about their particular problems or issues and the emotions or feelings that can accompany them.

It is described as a talking therapy because the counsellor will listen empathetically to an individual in order to understand the situation from the individual’s point of view. In doing this a trained counsellor will be able to encourage an individual to see their situation more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective, and will be able to help them identify new ways of coping with their problems or circumstances. Counseling usually does not involve giving advice or telling someone what to do with their lives, it is more about exploring problems, identifying possible solutions and choices and obtaining clarity.

For counseling to be effective, it is essential that an element of trust develops between the counsellor and the person or persons receiving the counseling as only in this way can there be an open and free dialogs. It may take time for a person receiving counseling to lose any initial feelings of distrust, fear and embarrassment so quite often counseling will be offered over several sessions in order for a relationship to develop between the counsellor and the patient or client.

There are several types of mental health counseling services available, each drawing on its own particular theory of human psychology and development. There are also many different types of counselors, some of who are trained to deal with a particular problem or circumstance. For example bereavement counselors, counselors who specialize in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and counselors who understand the issues surrounding drug and alcohol addiction, as well as many others.

Counseling can take place on a one to one basis, or in group sessions, face to face or over the phone. It can last for just one session, a specific block of sessions or be open ended with no time limit at all. Regardless of the particular type of mental health problem involved, the first step to recovery is recognizing that there is a problem in the first place.

When mental health counseling can help

Mental health counseling can be particularly beneficial for individuals who have a tendency to repress feelings like guilt, frustration, anger, resentment, sadness and so on and who find it difficult to cope alone and who for whatever reason, perhaps do not want to discuss how they feel with their friends and family. It can help an individual to gain new insights into their own particular circumstances and problems and to achieve clarity and direction in life. Most of all it can help an individual cope and improve their quality of life.

There are numerous circumstances where someone might seek the services of a mental health counsellor or be referred for counseling by their doctor and these include but are certainly not limited to:

* Relationship problems, including separation and divorce * Problems at work or financial worries, dismissal, redundancy * Physical, sexual and/or mental abuse * Bereavement * Depression and anxiety * Post natal depression * Eating disorders * OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) * Alcohol and drug abuse * Phobias * Panic Attacks * Dealing with stress * Post traumatic stress

Finding a counsellor

In order to get the right kind of help it is important that you access the most appropriate type of counselling for you and as there are so many available options, it can be problematic if you decide to go it alone.

In the first instance, it would be advisable to speak to your doctor as he or she will be able to take into consideration your full medical history before recommending any particular type of therapy or counsellor. If you decide to seek the services of a trained counsellor independently, it is up to you to check out the cost and the credentials of any potential counsellor before you start.

Many voluntary organizations have counselors and there are numerous private counselors advertising in the press, phone books and on the Internet. However, you can find an accredited counsellor from the British Association of Counseling and Psychotherapy website at www.bacp.co.uk or from the National Board for Certified Counselors at www.nbcc.org if you live in the USA