Tag: Relationship

Components & Principles of Effective Treatments in Mental Health

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For interventions (to at least be perceived) to be effective in the treatment of mental health conditions, from the perspective of the service user, there are a range of components that one must understand and appreciate.

  • Facilitative service environment(s):
    • Understand how the environment can affect a service user’s experience of treatment.
    • Prioritise good relationships between staff/volunteers and those using the services.
    • Taking a genuine interest in the service user.
    • Being respectful.
    • Helps service users feel at ease and prevent relapse.
  • Access to appropriate treatment(s).
  • Compassionate and non-judgemental support.
    • This can include peer, practical, and emotional support.
  • Interventions that are long enough in duration:
    • Treatment needs to be long enough in duration for the service user to avoid relapse and/or move into recovery.
    • Need for ongoing support.
    • Aftercare programme as a way of ensuring a supportive network to prevent relapse.
  • Interventions that offer stability.
  • Choices (in terms of treatment).
    • Service users like to feel they have a choice in their treatment.
    • Want to be treated as individuals.
    • Individualised care means provider must have flexibility in service delivery.
  • Opportunities to learn (or relearn) how to live.
    • Treatment should be seen as providing opportunities for service users to learn (vocational/life) skills to support them to live their lives.
    • This can aid service users to steer away from problematic patterns of behaviour by providing structure and purpose, alleviating boredom, and distraction from their condition.

The above should be provided with the following three principles in mind:

  1. Within the context of good relationships.
    • You are not there to be the service user’s best friend, but good/positive relationships aid effectiveness of treatment and perceptions of service.
  2. Person-centred care.
    • Where appropriate and practicable, the service/treatment should fit around the service user, not the service user around the service/treatment.
  3. Understanding the complexity of the service user’s (both personal and professional) circumstances.
    • Understanding of the service user’s circumstances can aid adherence to treatment and their journey through their condition.

Finally, remember that the way in which services and treatment are delivered, is considered by many service users, to be more important than the type of treatment provided.

Book: Self-Esteem for Dummies

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Book Title:

Self-Esteem for Dummies.

Author(s): S. Renee Smith and Vivian Harte.

Year: 2015.

Edition: Fourth (4th), Revised Edition.

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Boost your self-esteem and truly believe that you are perfectly awesome Looking to get your hands on some more self-esteem? You’re not alone.

Thankfully, Self-Esteem For Dummies presents clear, innovative, and compassionate methods that help you identify the causes of low self-esteem as well the lowdown on the consequences.

Packed with trusted, hands-on advice to help you improve your overall self-worth, Self-Esteem For Dummies arms you with the proven tools and techniques for learning how to think and behave with more self-assurance at work, in social situations, and even in relationships.

Self-esteem is shaped by your thoughts, relationships, and experiences. When you were growing up, your successes, failures, and how you were treated by your family, teachers, coaches, religious authorities, and peers determined how you feel about yourself.

But you can shift your thinking and reclaim your self-worth with the help of Self-Esteem For Dummies.

  • Helps you understand the ranges of self-esteem and the benefits of promoting self-esteem.
  • Arms you with the tools to learn how to think and behave with more self-assurance.
  • Covers the importance of mental well-being, assertiveness, resilience, and more.
  • Shows you how to improve your self-image, increase personal power, and feel better about yourself.

If you are looking to boost your sense of self-worth, Self-Esteem For Dummies sets you on the path to a more confident, awesome you.

Book: The Manipulative Man: Identify His Behaviour, Counter the Abuse, Regain Control

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Book Title:

The Manipulative Man: Identify His Behaviour, Counter the Abuse, Regain Control.

Author(s): Dorothy McCoy.

Year: 2006.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Adams Media.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Conventional wisdom says that women are the manipulative ones – but tell that to the thousands of desperate women suffering at the hands of a manipulative man. Men can be just as sneaky, passive-aggressive, needy, underhanded, whiny, guilt-inducing, and emotionally demanding as women are accused of being – and more so!

As any woman in love with a manipulative man can tell you, it is not easy to get past his charm and your guilt to a place where you can see your relationship for what it is – out of balance, extraordinarily stressful, emotionally exhausting, and potentially dangerous. The Manipulative Man is a groundbreaking prescription for dealing with the manipulative men in your life by using:

  • Tests to help you determine if you are involved with a mama’s boy, narcissist, sociopath, or even a psychopath.
  • Techniques for defining and setting boundaries with your man;.
  • Tools to help you improve their relationship.
  • And more!

In The Manipulative Man, acclaimed psychotherapist Dr. Dorothy McCoy shows you how to identify the type of manipulative man you are involved with, deal with the issues his behaviour provokes, and, ultimately, salvage the relationship – or move on.

Book: The Big Disconnect – Protecting Childhood And Family Relationships In The Digital Age

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Book Title:

The Big Disconnect – Protecting Childhood And Family Relationships In The Digital Age.

Author(s): Catherine Steiner-Adair.

Year: 2013.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Harper.

Type(s): Hardcover and Paperback.

Synopsis:

Clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair takes an in-depth look at how the Internet and the digital revolution are profoundly changing childhood and family dynamics, and offers solutions parents can use to successfully shepherd their children through the technological wilderness.

As the focus of the family has turned to the glow of the screen – children constantly texting their friends or going online to do homework; parents working online around the clock – everyday life is undergoing a massive transformation. Easy access to the Internet and social media has erased the boundaries that protect children from damaging exposure to excessive marketing and the unsavoury aspects of adult culture. Parents often feel they are losing a meaningful connection with their children. Children are feeling lonely and alienated. The digital world is here to stay, but what are families losing with technology’s gain?

As renowned clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair explains, families are in crisis as they face this issue, and even more so than they realise. Not only do chronic tech distractions have deep and lasting effects but children also desperately need parents to provide what tech cannot: close, significant interactions with the adults in their lives. Drawing on real-life stories from her clinical work with children and parents and her consulting work with educators and experts across the country, Steiner-Adair offers insights and advice that can help parents achieve greater understanding, authority, and confidence as they engage with the tech revolution unfolding in their living rooms.

Overcoming Communication Difficulties

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Communicating with People from Different Cultures

Any successful communication recognises the uniqueness of every culture, every relationship, and every individual – including you.

Some forms of verbal and non-verbal communication are appropriate and others are not appropriate. For instance, some individuals may regard prolonged eye contact as rude. We all have different ways of communicating our fears and needs when we become unwell. Invite the person to tell you about their life experiences, values, and belief systems. Also, ask them how they feel about asking for care and support.

Establish what is realistic for the individual, as well as what is culturally acceptable. Some cultures encourage the use of silence, whereas in others it creates embarrassment or awkwardness. In the French, Spanish, and Eastern European cultures, the presence of silence is a sign of agreement.

Working with an Interpreter or a Bilingual Worker

When an individual does not speak English at all, has limited English, or chooses to communicate their distress in their mother tongue, the best solution is to use a professional interpreter. The choice to use a trained interpreter or a family member must be made by the individual who is experiencing problems. Being able to do so will help the individual to fell that they are in control of the situation.

Language holds and creates the individual’s reality, experience, culture, and world view. A good interpreter will concentrate on accurately conveying equivalent meaning as well as reporting the direct answers to your questions and other responses offered. You should also be aware that the interpreter may bring their own bias to the situation.

Working with a British Sign Language Interpreter for the Deaf

There are very few services available for deaf people with mental health problems, although recently some deaf workers have been trained in mental health first aid.

If no deaf mental health first-aider is available, you may need to use an interpreter. In this case, you should take care to always face the deaf person when speaking and respond as though it is the deaf person speaking to you when the interpreter speaks. Remember that the interpreter is being the deaf person’s voice. Maintain good eye contact and show your feelings through your facial expressions. Deaf people do much of their communication through body language and facial expression, and are therefore skilled at reading feelings.

If no interpreter is available, you can still offer support and concern by showing your willingness to communicate. Deaf people can often lip read and can vocalise using English. Be patient and try hard to understand. Show your concern as you would with anyone in distress and ask the person who you can call for help.

Important Note

If you need to use a pen and paper to ask the person who they would like you to call for help or support, use very simple English.

British Sign Language is a different language to English – a person who was born deaf may not have English as their first language.