Treatment for Mental Illness
In many circumstances, the only option available for inpatient stabilization and treatment of mental illness is a short stay in a hospital psychiatric unit. Morningside Recovery has found that not only are these 24 to 72 hour stays too short for successful stabilization and treatment of many mental health issues, but the impersonal environment is highly ineffective. Patients often find themselves back in the hospital multiple times with the same problems. We have developed our psychiatric stabilization and longer-term treatment options as a solution or addition to the all-too-standard, short-term psychiatric hospitalization.
In many cases, families struggle to find inpatient stabilization and treatment for a loved one with a mental illness. Often, a family can only secure a short stay in a hospital psychiatric unit for the patient. With this in mind, Morningside’s clinical team has developed psychiatric stabilization and longer-term treatment options. Whether coming in from a psychiatric hold or seeking relief from a mood disorder, our mental illness stabilization and treatment programs provide everything a client needs for success in battling mental illness.
Many mental illnesses have no “cure” – but there is hope. One client shared about her descent into schizophrenia: “I got straight A’s in high school and never smoked pot. I started smoking at college in the dorm with my roommate. Where everybody else just got the munchies, I tripped. I saw things and couldn’t control my thoughts. I thought the pot was laced with LSD. I ended up dropping out of college and started smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. When I got to Morningside I was still in denial about my diagnosis. But then I realized that nobody cared what you called yourself, they just wanted to help. That felt so awesome at a time in my life when I was suicidal.”
While there are no quick fixes for mental illnesses, these conditions are treatable. The treatment philosophy at Morningside Recovery is that mental illness is a chronic and often co-occurring disease with risk of relapse – perhaps in the form of an acute psychotic episode. Moreover, individuals with mental illness can learn from peers who are skilled at managing their illness. Research has demonstrated that peer support groups are invaluable to individuals living with mental illness. The shared experience is recognized as extremely beneficial. For example, individuals with anxiety disorders and depression may have difficulty with prioritizing tasks, certain kinds of memory functions, and organizing their thoughts. And a common problem associated with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder is a lack of insight into the condition itself. This is not a willful denial, but rather a feature of the disease itself.
At Morningside, treatment for mental illness is all about treating the whole person and not just defining symptoms. As with any disease of the mind, the needs of the client change over time. Treatment can naturally involve carefully prescribed medication, but also includes a strong sense of community among the staff and clients, which is so important for individuals facing mental illness. The first phase of treatment includes cognitive behavior therapy, group therapy and social skills training. This treatment can be most beneficial to what clinicians call “negative symptoms,” meaning a lack of certain characteristics that a person should have. These include emotional flatness or lack of expression, speech that is brief and devoid of content, an inability to start and follow through with activities, and a lack of pleasure or interest in life.
If necessary, medications are used at Morningside to treat mental illnesses. These include antipsychotic medications, antidepressants and mood stabilizers. The clinical staff at Morningside works hard to stay current on new medications that might benefit a particular individual. The biggest change in medication in the last fifteen years has been newer antipsychotics and antidepressants. Now, even better compounds are being developed that target the key neurotransmitters that are involved in certain mental disorders, as opposed to drugs that only target dopamine. The clinical staff stays up to date on the latest medications, keeping in mind medications are useful only if they cause more benefit than harm, and work only if clients actually take them. Moreover, research has shown that it’s not only the drug, but the dosage. Dosages for clients in all phases of treatment are closely monitored because it is vital to adjust dosage after stabilization so that clients aren’t over medicated.
Virtually all medications have some side effects, and that’s why the comprehensive treatment available at Morningside is so crucial. The staff monitors clients for side effects such as excessive sleepiness, and weight gain or loss. Often, clients can change from one antipsychotic to another one if they are not responding well to the first medication. The same principle applies to the use of antidepressants or mood stabilizers, which are often necessary for treatment or therapy to be effective.
Morningside Recovery offers a number of therapeutic approaches. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) focuses on changing patterns of negative thinking and beliefs. Thus, a client with dysthymia may worsen their condition with negative thoughts such as, “What’s the point. My life’s already ruined.” The basis of CBT is that beliefs trigger thoughts, which then trigger feelings and produce behaviors. Cognitive behavior therapy strategies include rational self-talk, reality testing, attention training, cognitive challenging and cognitive restructuring.
Unlike other treatment centers, Morningside Recovery recognizes that mental illness needs to be treated psychiatrically, not 12-stepped. In cases where substance abuse is also a concern, or if that diagnosis arises from treatment, our co-occurring disorder track successfully and simultaneously treats both the substance abuse and mental illness. A big part of treatment is social skills training. This involves regular sessions between the client and their primary therapist focusing on current problems, thoughts, feelings, or relationships. Clients can begin to understand their illnesses within the context of behaviors, learning to better handle problems in their daily lives. Treatment also includes skills for relapse avoidance, medication non-compliance counseling, dealing with legal problems, and vocational and academic counseling.
Daily living at Morningside Recovery includes getting regular exercise, learning relaxation techniques, and nutritional guidance. Morningside has a nutrition expert on staff to assist clients in getting on the right track with healthy eating habits. Dietary choices have proven to have dramatic effects on mental health: Supplements containing certain amino acids have shown promise in treating both anxiety and depression, and omega-3 fatty acids found can help to reduce the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Also, the antioxidants Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Alpha Lipoic Acid can help alleviate the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder.
Research has consistently shown that clients who have involved families fare better than those who struggle with their condition alone. Insofar as possible, Morningside ensures that family members are involved in the care of their loved one. Two weekends a month the client and their loved ones have the opportunity to participate in individualized family therapy with the client’s primary therapist, in addition to educational family programming. This can be a way to free themselves from the guilt and shame that too often accompany mental illness.
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