If you’ve noticed behavior in a loved one that you think may require mental health treatment, it can be a difficult situation to handle. Of course, you want to help your loved one, but you may not know where to begin. Who do you turn to? Do they need a psychiatrist or a psychologist? How do you convince your loved one to seek help?
First, you should understand the signs of a mental health disorder and learn about your options.
Signs of a Mental Health Disorder
While you cannot determine for certain whether your loved one has a mental health disorder or diagnose the type of mental disorder they have, you can look for signs that are common with many mental health disorders. These include:
- Isolation from you and other loved ones
- Poor self-care, such as poor hygiene, unhealthy habits, or poor sleep patterns
- Extreme tiredness or low energy
- Extreme mood swings
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Confusion
- Lack of focus
- Seeming out of touch with reality
- Persistent sadness
- Unusual anxiety
- Uncharacteristic irritability or anger
If you notice more than one of these signs, your loved one may need help with a mental health disorder.
Psychiatrist Vs. Psychologist
When you decide to intervene and try to help your loved one, you may wonder if they need help from a psychiatrist or psychologist. You can’t make this determination yourself, but by understanding the difference between the two, you can find a starting point to seek professional assistance.
Psychologists and psychiatrists both treat mental health disorders with psychological methods, meaning talk therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. The difference is that psychiatrists are trained medical doctors and can prescribe medications and have a deeper understanding of the physical causes of mental health disorders. Usually, they treat people with more severe mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Sometimes psychologists and psychiatrists work together to treat the patient with both talk therapy and medication. In these cases, the psychiatrist makes the formal diagnosis and coordinates the treatment plan.
How to Help Your Loved One
While you can’t force your loved one to get treatment, you can attempt to intervene in several ways.
Education First
Your first step should be to educate yourself on mental health disorders. You can learn about various types of disorders and their symptoms, but more importantly, how they are treated. This can give you an idea of what kinds of resources you need to find. Then you can search your area for psychiatrists or psychologists that specialize in the type of mental disorder that your loved one may have.
Once you have knowledge and resources, you’ll be prepared to have a conversation with your loved one.
Have a Conversation
Before you have a conversation with your loved one about seeking help, you should have a plan in place. When making the plan, keep several things in mind.
- Choose a time and place that will offer privacy and no interruptions.
- Approach the conversation with concern and empathy without making definitive statements like “you need help.” Instead, you could say, “I love you and I’m concerned about you. Have you considered going to therapy?”
- Don’t get angry, even if they do. Be prepared for defensiveness and stay calm and empathetic.
- Take away the stigma of mental health disorders and therapy by discussing that many people suffer from mental and emotional challenges, and that seeking mental health treatment is common.
- If your loved one denies having an issue, or asks what you think is wrong with them, be specific about your concerns. You can say things like “I’ve noticed that you’re not spending time with family or friends”, or “I’ve noticed that you seem very sad all the time.”
- Talk to them about what you’ve learned about mental health disorders and their treatment. Show them the resources you’ve gathered. Offer first steps.
Mental Health Evaluation
After your conversation, the first step should be a mental health evaluation. Hopefully they will agree to go using the resources you’ve gathered. Offer to accompany them for support.
The evaluation will generally consist of an extensive interview with questions about symptoms, emotions, and history. They will also evaluate your loved one’s demeanor, such as their mood or their attitude toward the person doing the evaluation.
Sometimes a mental health evaluation includes a physical examination.
Ongoing Support
Moving forward, you can continue to help your loved one in several ways.
- Check in with them often, just to ask them how they’re doing. Offer to listen if they need to talk.
- Offer to drive them to treatment appointments, or to help with their daily tasks.
- Invite them to do activities with you that they enjoy.
- Help others in your family to understand and support your loved one.
- Don’t push them to talk about their mental health. Simply offer your support.
In Closing
Watching someone suffer with mental health issues can be stressful, but you can help by educating yourself about mental illness and being supportive. While you can’t determine yourself if they need to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, you can encourage them to get a mental health evaluation and let a professional determine the best course of treatment.
At Health Service Alliance, we provide mental health evaluations and treatment resources. Our mental health professionals offer support and care in a safe and nurturing environment and can help your loved one get on the right treatment path so that they can better cope with their mental health issues and live a healthier, more fulfilling life.
