Often, there is a tendency to believe that people must choose one thing over another in life. We forget that it may make more sense to combine options for greater overall impact. In mental health treatment, for example, it often works well to combine medication and therapy rather than focus on just one of these healing paths. At Highland Hospital Behavioral Health in Charleston, West Virginia, we create individualized treatment plans for each of our patients. These plans are evidence-based and centered on what will work best for that person.
Benefits of Medication
When a person takes medicine to help with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc., they are hoping to give their brain the right balance of chemicals for healthy functioning. This can make it easier for them to do things that their diagnosis made difficult.
Unfortunately, if a person stops taking their medication or if the medication does not work for them, their symptoms can return. If they have not done anything to improve their coping skills, gain insight into their mental health, or enhance their understanding of past trauma, they may quickly revert to old, unhealthy behaviors.
Benefits of Therapy
People participate in mental health therapy for a variety of reasons. Some of these include:
- Better understanding of their own feelings
- Finding coping strategies that work better for them
- Improving their emotional state
- Building healthier relationships
- Processing painful experiences from their past
- Learning how to manage stress
When people participate in therapy, they learn new ways of doing things that stick with them after therapy has been completed, but it can sometimes be difficult for them to pick up or maintain these new skills if their brain is not functioning optimally.
Benefits of Combining Medication and Therapy
Both medication and therapy take some time to show results, even when they are used together. Patients and their support systems can find it frustrating to wait for improvement to occur, but with time, most patients do get better.
Often, people can improve by participating in just therapy or just medication management. Progress is often greater and faster, however, when the two treatment strategies are used together. This is called combination therapy. Studies have shown:
- People with depression had substantially more improved quality of life and better functioning at work, home, or school if they took medications and participated in therapy at the same time. Combination therapy also drastically reduced the chances of a person with depression having a relapse.
- Patients with schizophrenia who had medication and psychosocial interventions (including therapy, family intervention, mental health education and skills training) were more likely to continue their treatment, less likely to experience a relapse in symptoms, had improved insight into their mental health, and experienced better quality of life and social functioning than patients who only took medications.
- When therapy that was tailored to supporting people with bipolar disorder was added to their medication, the patients were more likely to stick with their treatment, have better interpersonal interactions, and experience better mental functioning. They were also less likely to experience relapses or to need hospitalization after starting treatment and had faster and greater recovery.
A Bigger, Better Team
One additional benefit patients may experience from utilizing therapy and medications together is having more mental health expertise on their team. Because it is exceedingly rare for a single provider to offer both therapy and medication management, patients who utilize both will have access to mental health professionals who may bring different perspectives and skill sets to their treatment. When these providers work together, they may be able to come up with ideas that build off of the work of the other.
In addition, because patients may connect more quickly and strongly with one provider over another, having access to two mental health professionals may make it easier to discuss difficult topics like suicidal thoughts and worries about relapse. It may also increase the chances that a provider will notice concerning changes in a patient’s health.
At Highland Hospital Behavioral Health, we offer treatment for children, adolescents and adults who are struggling with mental health and/or substance use disorders. Our caring team of psychiatric professionals provide trauma-informed, individually tailored services in state-of-the-art facilities. This includes several types of group and individual therapy, drug and alcohol detox, and medication management.
