This year, World Mental Health Day falls on Thursday, October 10. Its objective is to raise awareness about mental health all around the world and support those who are experiencing mental health issues of all kinds.
Millions of people globally experience mental health challenges each year. But in this country, 23 percent of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2021 alone (58 million people), or about one in five adults.
Fortunately, there are many resources out there to help you feel less alone and recognize there are ways to cope and even overcome mental health challenges, from therapy to support groups. In honor of World Mental Health Day, we will go over some facts about mental health, as well as the different types of therapies available to you.
You Are Not Alone
While it can be isolating to cope with a mental health challenge of any kind, it’s important to understand you are never alone. Millions of people just like you are going through the same thing, trying to work, create, laugh, love, inspire, and perform each and every day like nothing is wrong.
It may be helpful to take a look at things by the numbers:
- 23 percent of U.S. adults experience mental health challenges (one in five), with more than five percent experiencing serious mental health challenges (about one in 20).
- Nearly eight percent of U.S. adults experience a co-occurring substance use disorder as well as mental health challenge.
- Approximately 20 percent of children ages 3 to 17 in the U.S. face a mental, behavioral, emotional, or developmental challenge, says the NIH.
- Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health issue in this country; 5 million Americans have it.
- One in 4 American adults has a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year; one in 10 has a depressive illness (i.e.,) bipolar disorder or major depression.
- Five million children in the U.S. have anxiety.
- 20 percent of teens suffer from depression before becoming an adult.
- More than 40 percent of veterans have mental health or substance abuse challenges.
How We Can Help
Here at Growing Together Preventive & Psychological Services, we offer a variety of targeted therapy services, from group and family to couples and individual. Here’s a look at a few of them and how they can help.
Family Therapy
This type of group psychotherapy is designed to improve interfamilial relationships and behaviors. Within sessions, there may be many different combinations of loved ones, from parents or guardians with their kids, to siblings and grandparents.
Family therapy helps families of all kinds and sizes in adjusting or coping with:
- New life changes, from divorces to moves to medical conditions.
- Challenges associated with aging.
- Grief and death.
- Conflicts within relationships (sibling conflict, parent-child, etc.).
Family therapy is led by a trained and licensed mental health professional as they provide support, education, and guidance to all members of a family unit so they can navigate the challenge and stabilize the unit once again.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy focuses on couples of all kinds who are experiencing strife in their relationship. It can help in:
- Improving communication skills: You and your partner will find tools to help share concerns and emotions in the most effective manner possible.
- Creating a safe space: The office offers a safe, confidential space in which to share feelings and thoughts. The counselor maintains a position of neutrality, helping both sides work through differences through healthy expression.
- Building empathy and understanding: You can both develop empathy and understanding of each other to create a new perspective when working through a conflict.
- Resolving conflicts: Therapy helps both parties come up with strong conflict resolution skills in order to solve disagreements in a more productive manner while keeping resentment at bay.
Dyadic Therapy
Dyadic therapy involves parents and infants or young children being treated together. This type of therapy can help a parent and child fall back into sync together while improving perceptions, perspectives, and their relationship as a whole.
Group Therapy
Group therapy takes place in residential or outpatient settings, with moderation conducted by a licensed mental health professional. A small number of participants, all bound by confidentiality, can discuss a wide range of issues in confidence, from peer relationships to behavioral issues to substance abuse. All participants can share their thoughts in an open and honest forum to receive support and feedback from others who are going through the same thing.
Contact Us For a Free Initial Consultation
If you are experiencing mental health challenges and need someone to talk to, please reach out to Growing Together Preventive & Psychological Services today and schedule your free consultation. We offer a variety of therapy services throughout Danville CA and beyond, catering to individuals, groups, families, couples, and children.
