Family Therapy Tampa | Brandon FL

Family Therapy Tampa | Counseling Brandon Florida Mental Health
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Benefits of Family Therapy

Family counseling or family therapy is a series of processes designed to tackle specific problems that change the family’s psychological health. These problems could be mental health conditions or major life transitions. Family therapy is utilized as a primary form of treatment or as a complementary procedure.

Family therapy has the following benefits:

Improve communication

It’s quite common for majority of the family members to be open to one another, which creates disconnection and distance between each other. As a result of this, bigger problems will arise in the future. However, a counselor will help family members understand their part in the family and show the benefits of honest and open communication. Counseling session for all family members will break the ice, allowing them to communicate and understand others positively, without any conflict.

Strengthen bonds and enhance relationships

Depending on the nature of siblings, conflicts can exist between them. If these problems remain unresolved, it will have a serious negative impact on the bonds within the family. Sometimes siblings are jealous of each other and fight to gain attention among other things. Parents misinterpret the situation and consider it unimportant, which results in the siblings having unresolved feelings. A counselor will help parents understand their children better, teach the members how to express their feelings and bring the family together as a single unit.

Boost self-esteem

If all the family members want to cope up with the community and the major challenges life throws at them, they need to have good amounts of self-esteem. People who live or grow without self-esteem will be vulnerable to interpersonal problems, health problems, and peer pressure. If the parents lack self-esteem and motivation, it is more likely for their children to have the same problems. A therapist will help restore self-esteem and motivation which enables the family to understand each other. As a result of this, all the members will feel good about themselves and their perceived value in the neighborhood. The family becomes a unit and will live a more positive life, increasing the chances of being successful in their endeavors.

Happier family

Due to the availability of a large number of entertainment devices such as smartphones, tablets, and televisions to name a few, people turn to them to escape reality when they are facing a problem. Rather than facing and overcoming the situation, people prefer to run away, which can result in the family getting alienated. Counselors help in coping and tackling problems head first so that people don’t ignore their family members. As a result of this, the entire family will be happy.

Better mental health

It is important to be at peace with oneself and all the other family members for good mental health. Peace only exists when all members can understand each other and are willing to work together as a single unit. As long as there is someone to listen to woes and provide help when possible, there will be harmony among the family members. Counselors help family members to identify and handle problems constructively.

Every family has its own set of problems which can be messy if no one knows how to deal with them. Counselors provide proper training on how to deal with such situations by making the family work as a team. Family therapy is beneficial for all the family members and brings everyone together!

Collaborative Therapeutic Services (CTS) seeks to maximize clients’ options by offering a variety of services, hours, locations and service providers with diverse specializations. We offer evening & weekend appointments. Have questions? Contact Us Here or Call 813-951-7346. Locations in Tampa & Brandon.

Photo By Eric Ward [CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Choosing the Best Mental Health Counselor

Choosing the Best Mental Health CounselorTampa | Brandon Florida Mental Health
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Types of Mental Health Professionals

Which mental health professional is right for you? There are many types of mental health professionals. Finding the right one for you may require some research. Below is a listing of types of mental health treatment professionals to help you understand the differences between the services they provide.

The following mental health professionals can provide psychological assessments and therapy; however, cannot generally prescribe medications (although some states will allow it):

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical psychologists are licensed professionals who are qualified to provide direct services to patients. Their work may include administering and interpreting cognitive and personality tests, diagnosing mental illness, creating treatment plans, and conducting psychotherapy. Psychologists are experts in psychometrics, or psychological measurement. Often they are called on to give a battery of tests to evaluate cognitive ability or mental status. In addition to formal tests, clinical psychologists may use interviews and behavioral observations. Key to effective practice is understanding how conditions manifest themselves across diverse populations.

School Psychologist

School psychologists are uniquely qualified members of school teams that support students' ability to learn and teachers' ability to teach. They apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior, to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. School psychologists partner with families, teachers, school administrators, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community.

The following mental health professionals can provide counseling and with proper training, assessments; however, cannot prescribe medication:

Clinical Social Worker

Clinical social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances. Individual, group and family therapy are common treatment modalities. Social workers who provide these services are required to be licensed or certified at the clinical level in their state of practice. Clinical social workers perform services in a variety of settings including private practice, hospitals, community mental health, primary care, and agencies.

Licensed Professional Counselor

Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) are master’s-degreed mental health service providers, trained to work with individuals, families, and groups in treating mental, behavioral, and emotional problems and disorders. LPCs make up a large percentage of the workforce employed in community mental health centers, agencies, and organizations, and are employed within and covered by managed care organizations and health plans. LPCs also work with active duty military personnel and their families, as well as veterans.

Mental Health Counselor

A counselor with a masters degree and several years of supervised clinical work experience. Mental health counseling is what people typically think of when they hear the word counseling, but counselors’ actual job duties may go well beyond what people imagine. Clinical counselors do indeed talk people through problems. In many cases, though, they diagnose as well as treat mental illness.

Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor

The first key difference between the Licensed Alcohol Drug Abuse Counselor (LADC) and the Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (CADC) exams is the required formal education level required for exam eligibility. For the LADC, an advanced degree may be required, while CADC certification applicants can submit for eligibility with a High School Diploma/GED and coursework that satisfies eligibility.

The second and more important difference is national reciprocity. While the CADC has achieved national certification and international accreditation, the LADC does not have interstate recognition due to a lack of a universal definition. The result is no LADC reciprocity between interstate providers, employers, and service recipients. In contrast, a counselor with a CADC is eligible to be employed and provide services within any state, and in most cases, meets a global standard of competency.

Marital and Family Therapist

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.

Marriage and family therapists are a highly experienced group of practitioners, with an average of 13 years of clinical practice in the field of marriage and family therapy. They evaluate and treat mental and emotional disorders, other health and behavioral problems, and address a wide array of relationship issues within the context of the family system.

Peer Specialist

A Peer Specialist is a person with a mental health and/or co-occurring condition, who has been trained and certified to help others with these conditions, identify and achieve specific life and recovery goals. A Peer Specialist is a person who is actively engaged in his/her own recovery, and who volunteers or is hired to provide peer support services to others engaged in mental health treatment.

Other Therapists

Therapist with an advance degree trained in specialized forms of therapy. Examples include art therapist, music therapist.

The following mental health professionals can prescribe medication; however, they may not provide therapy:

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician (a medical doctor--either an MD or a DO) who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders. Psychiatrists are trained in the medical, psychological, and social components of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and utilize a broad range of treatment modalities, including diagnostic tests, prescribing medications, psychotherapy, and helping patients and their families cope with stress and crises. Psychiatrists increasingly work in integrated settings and often lead or participate on treatment teams and provide consultation to primary care physicians and other medical specialties.

Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist

The child and adolescent psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and the treatment of disorders of thinking, feeling and/or behavior affecting children, adolescents, and their families. A child and adolescent psychiatrist offers families the advantages of a medical education, the medical traditions of professional ethics, and medical responsibility for providing comprehensive care.

Psychiatric or Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Psychiatric mental health nursing is a specialty within nursing. Psychiatric mental health registered nurses work with individuals, families, groups, and communities, assessing their mental health needs. The PMH nurse develops a nursing diagnosis and plan of care, implements the nursing process, and evaluates it for effectiveness. Psychiatric Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (PMH-APRNs) offer primary care services to the psychiatric-mental health population. PMH-APRNs assess, diagnose, and treat individuals and families with psychiatric disorders or the potential for such disorders using their full scope of therapeutic skills, including the prescription of medication and administration of psychotherapy. PMH-APRNs often own private practices and corporations as well as consult with groups, communities, legislators, and corporations.

You've Made the Call to the Mental Health Professional...Now What Do You Do?

Spend a few minutes talking with him or her on the phone, ask about their approach to working with patients, their philosophy, whether or not they have a specialty or concentration (some psychologists for instance specialize in family counseling, or child counseling, while others specialize in divorce or coping with the loss of a loved one.) If you feel comfortable talking to the counselor or doctor, the next step is to make an appointment.

On your first visit, the counselor or the doctor will want to get to know you and why you called him or her. The counselor will want to know-- what you think the problem is, about your life, what you do, where you live, with whom you live. It is also common to be asked about your family and friends. This information helps the professional to assess your situation and develop a plan for treatment. If you don’t feel comfortable with the professional after the first, or even several visits, talk about your feelings at your next meeting; don’t be afraid to contact another counselor. Feeling comfortable with the professional you choose is very important to the success of your treatment.

Collaborative Therapeutic Services (CTS) seeks to maximize clients’ options by offering a variety of services, hours, locations and service providers with diverse specializations. We offer evening & weekend appointments. Have questions? Contact Us Here or Call 813-951-7346. Locations in Tampa & Brandon.