We’ve all been there. You’re at your weekly therapy appointment, discussing an important issue. But just as you arrive at the brink of a breakthrough, your therapist looks at the clock and says, “That’s all we have time for this week.”
Sometimes, it seems like there just aren’t enough minutes in a once-a-week therapy appointment to get to the heart of the issues affecting your mental health. And by the time you return, you’ve lost momentum. While weekly therapy can be helpful, there are times when you need more time and expertise to explore the root causes of what you’re going through. When you’re not getting the help you need, there’s no shame in seeking a different level of care. If you’re feeling stuck, not making the progress you hoped for, or even feeling worse despite weekly counseling sessions, you should explore the benefits of a more intensive inpatient or outpatient therapy program.
Don’t Wait Until You’re in Crisis
When facing issues with our physical health or addiction, we often wait until we’re in crisis to seek more help. That’s especially true of mental health issues. When it comes to depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, we tend to rationalize our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, finding ways to explain worsening signs and symptoms. We do this because we’re trying to protect ourselves from uncomfortable memories and feelings such as remorse, guilt, shame, anger, and fear associated with trauma and stress disorders. If you’re experiencing these feelings despite participating in weekly therapy, you might tell yourself that you’re managing just fine or that it’s not that bad. You might even use your current therapy to explain away your feelings, telling yourself that negative thoughts and emotions are just part of the therapeutic process.
The problem with this approach is that static or worsening symptoms are signs of improperly treated mental health issues. These problems can compound over time until you ultimately find yourself in crisis. Not receiving the proper level of mental health care negatively affects all aspects of your life, including your relationships, your job, and your physical health. Signs that you may need to step up to inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient mental health care include:
• Thoughts of harming yourself or others: This is the most serious sign that you need to seek more intensive care for your mental health
• Loss of hope: You feel overwhelmed and hopeless, like you’ll never get better
• Inability to perform basic daily tasks: You find yourself struggling to function at work or school, or even with basic self-care
• Acute changes in behavior: You’re isolating yourself from loved ones or acting out in dangerous ways
• Your symptoms aren’t improving: The reasons you initially sought help haven’t gotten noticeably better
• Unsupportive home environment: If you’re in an unsafe or triggering environment at home, inpatient or intensive outpatient mental health treatment can provide a safe place to focus on yourself
• You’re dealing with more than one issue: Inpatient and intensive outpatient mental health therapy programs are better equipped to accurately diagnose and treat co-occurring disorders including addiction
• Feeling like you’re at a standstill: You keep coming back to the same issues in therapy without feeling like you’re making significant progress
• Your therapist suggests that you may benefit from more intense treatment
If you’re not making the progress you’d hoped for in weekly therapy, don’t wait until your mental health worsens to seek a different level of care. Mental health conditions are like any other chronic health condition in that the sooner you receive the right treatment, the better your outcomes will be. Research shows that early intervention improves your prognosis and chances of recovery. Being proactive about your mental health also has positive effects on your overall health, intimate relationships, and work life.
Weekly Therapy vs. More Intense Treatment
There’s no question that weekly appointments with a licensed therapist can help you work through some mental health issues. But complex and critical conditions and situations require more time and expertise than once-a-week sessions can provide.
More Time for Healing
Being able to spend more time in therapy is a major benefit of more intense mental health care. Residential treatment and intensive outpatient treatment programs give you more time to explore the underlying causes and triggers of your mental health issues in depth.
If you’re seeing a therapist once a week, that adds up to just 52 hours of mental health care per year. In a residential treatment program, you receive various types of treatment six to eight hours per day, seven days per week. That adds up to around 50 hours of treatment each week, meaning you can get four years’ worth of care in one 30-day stay. In addition, inpatient treatment programs offer around-the-clock care and support.
You may have only heard of intensive outpatient treatment programs, or IOP programs, in the context of outpatient rehab for substance abuse, but studies have shown that they’re also very effective for treating mental illness. If you choose an IOP program, you’ll typically engage in three to five hours of therapy per day, three to five days a week, for an average of 20 hours of treatment per week. IOP programs can range from a few weeks to a few months, so you can receive between 80 to 320 hours of care, representing between two and five years’ worth of weekly appointments.
More Tools at Your Disposal
When you’re treated at a treatment facility, you have access to all the experts, programs, and tools that facility offers. In a more intensive mental health program such as inpatient treatment or an IOP program, you’ll be able to benefit from different types of therapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and group therapy. You’ll also have the time to participate in holistic healing activities such as equine therapy, art therapy, and mindfulness exercises such as yoga and meditation. Inpatient and IOP programs also offer other valuable services such as medication management, case management, educational classes, family support services, and continuing care plans.
A Different Level of Care at The Guest House
At The Guest House, we believe that mental health issues are the product of unresolved trauma. Depression, disordered eating, anxiety, and substance abuse are often signs of deep emotional and psychological pain. We personalize care and trauma treatment for our guests with a diverse range of therapy options including group and individual therapy, breathwork, somatic therapy, mindfulness exercises, accelerated resolution therapy, and holistic healing. Our expert, compassionate staff is dedicated to trauma-informed care that helps you find lifelong healing.
More Support by Your Side
At a licensed mental health treatment facility, you won’t rely on just a single therapist but get support and care from a range of clinical professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, specialized psychiatric mental health nurses, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, and care coordinators. These experts have extensive experience in mental health care and work together to provide psychological, medical, and social care to help you heal. You’ll also create community with your fellow program participants who struggle with issues similar to yours, understand what you’re going through, and support you as you heal.
The Benefits of Taking Time to Focus on Your Mental Health
Perhaps the most valuable benefit of a more intensive level of mental health care is the opportunity to press pause on the stressors and responsibilities of the outside world and focus only on yourself. In fact, patients who engaged in therapy more often have been shown to recover more quickly. Inpatient treatment and intensive outpatient treatment programs offer a safe space where you can uncover past traumas, gain the tools you need to process those traumas, and experience breakthroughs that lead to lasting recovery.
Taking the Next Step
If you’re considering inpatient treatment or an IOP program, talk to your therapist. Don’t worry about offending them; they want what’s best for you. They’ll be happy to help you get the level of care you need. Your therapist is also a good source of information when trying to decide which type of program is right for you. And you’ll likely return to weekly therapy as part of your continuing care program. These regular appointments will help you maintain the progress you made in treatment and provide ongoing support for your long-term recovery.
Deciding that you need more help than a weekly therapy appointment can provide isn’t a sign of weakness or failure, but of strength and self-awareness. Don’t wait until you’re in crisis. You deserve a level of care, expertise, and support that meets you where you are and puts you on the road to a healthy, fulfilled life.
If you recognize that you need a different level of care, let The Guest House provide the safe, nurturing therapeutic environment you need to fully explore, process, and heal the underlying causes of mental health issues. Call us today at 855-517-2851 to learn more about how we can help.