Behavioral health services are concerned with the everyday habits, behaviors, and actions of patients that may have an effect on their mental and/or physical health. For instance, while assessing a patient’s behavioral health needs, a behavioral health provider may consider the patient’s daily activity or eating habits in relation to their anxiety or depression levels. Many in the medical community consider behavioral healthcare to be more holistic, referring to it as “better care and wellness for the whole individual.”
Consider the behavioral health consequences.
Recent studies indicate that approximately 44 million Americans suffer from mental illness, but only 43% receive treatment. Similarly, about 20 million Americans suffer from substance abuse disorders, but just 11% receive treatment. To put this in context, 44 million people who suffer from mental illness are larger than the entire population of California; 20 million people who suffer from drug misuse disorders are the size of the entire population of Florida. Additionally, “up to one-third of individuals may fit the criteria for a recent behavioral health issue,” with “half reporting that their disorders began before the age of 14, and nearly three-quarters reporting that their disorders began before the age of 24.” Behavioral healthcare affects individuals of all ages, from infants to seniors 55 years and older. According to studies, 20% of adults over the age of 55 have a mental disease, and two-thirds of nursing home residents have behavioral health problems. Only 3% of those reported people, however, are actively seeking treatment for their symptoms and illnesses from a mental health expert. This demonstrates that the problems addressed by behavioral health affect a large number of people, however the majority of those afflicted are unaware they are suffering or have access to help.
Counseling and therapy for behavioral health issues.
When a patient is researching treatment options for a behavioral issue, they will discover that behavioral health professionals and their services are more prevalent than previously imagined. A social worker, counselor, psychiatric nurse practitioner, neurologist, and even a primary care provider are all connected to and trained to give treatment for behavioral disorders. Additionally, treatment programs can be structured in a variety of ways, depending on the patient’s behavioral health issue or mental disorder, including inpatient programs, outpatient programs, specialized rehabilitation programs, and therapeutic programs such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Once a client selects a trustworthy behavioral health consultant, the doctor may examine or interview the patient about a variety of “behaviors” and prior medical history. For instance, it is common to assess whether the patient is currently or previously struggling with a substance abuse disorder, a relationship with gambling or other addictive behaviors, their life at school or at home, their history of trauma or struggle with a past health condition, various aspects of their mental health, including previous diagnoses of a mental health issue, their relationship with food or exercise in the presence of an eating disorder, and so on. Fundamentally, behavioral health demands an in-depth examination of a patient’s history, as their daily routines contain a range of components that might have a substantial impact on their mental and/or physical health. Symptoms are frequently intricately related and vary significantly across individuals.
