In order to accurately conduct diagnosis, prognosis and assessment of symptoms, mental health professionals have developed various types of tests that are apt to the needs of each mental health issue. Obviously, only the subjects within the concern of a specific issue are covered in the tests. Here are some of the basic categories of mental health tests:

Neuropsychological Tests

If a neuropsychological cause is suspected in an individual, the clinician would use a paper-and-pencil test to determine any deficit in sensorimotor and cognitive capacities. These may include a tendency to disregard one or several items in a visual field or attention problem. Among the most common neuropsychological tests is the Bender-Gestalt Test which aims to asses the person’s sensorimotor skills by making them reproduce nine drawings.

A person who may have a diagnosable mental illness may be able to reproduce different figures, change the positioning of the figures drawn or change the parts of some of the figures copied. After this activity, they would be asked to remember the image. Most people with mental disorders usually have memory deficits. While this test may not sufficiently identify the specific type of brain damage among people assessed, it is a reliable tool to conclude that a person may or may not have brain damage.

Intelligence Tests

While the use of intelligence tests is usually more productive in educational and industrial settings, it is however useful in determining whether a person is mentally healthy or not. In the clinical setting, these tests are used to have an insight on the person’s intellectual capacities, strengths and weaknesses especially when mental damages are suspected. These tests normally were designed to measure basic intelligence, abstract reasoning, verbal fluency and spatial memory. Results from intelligence tests are used in identifying to which bracket of intelligence a person belongs. People with relatively low scores on IQ tests have some forms of mental disability while those scoring way beyond the average individual may have lower susceptibility to the development of mental disorders. However, this should not be taken as a generalization.

Symptom Questionnaires

The most prevalent type of test these days, symptom questionnaires is used by clinicians and laymen alike. In their original forms, symptom questionnaires are used to directly asses whether a person manifests or feels symptoms of a specific disorder. However, such questionnaires could also cover a wide variety of symptoms from different mental disorders.

Personality Inventories

These are questionnaires that are helpful in assessing people’s typical manner of behavior, thinking and feeling. These provide the fundamental information on assessing a person’s well-being (a very important aspect in mental health), ways of coping, self concept, perception, attitudes, beliefs and vulnerabilities.

Versions of these personality tests are normally seen on online resources. In fact, many people get their mental health assessments from these resources. While these may be helpful as self-help tests, many of the mental health tests on websites are not validated and may have low reliability. These are powerful tools however many are not tested for their validity and reliability. If these two important concepts of psychological testing are not met, the purpose of the test may be defeated.

In case you are using online tests, please be aware that it should be PhD-certified or PhD-approved. Any other types of certifications confirming that someone expert in the field of psychological testing has given his approval of the tests are helpful.

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Mental health recovery is all about improvement from a bad case to something better. It is a continuous process and definitely not a linear one. You would move from square one to square two but you should always be ready to move one step back. You would learn newer ways to control the symptoms of your mental illness and would have insights on how to cope with them. There would be a lot of disappointments and errors the results from these errors are oftentimes rewarding.

Mental health recovery is a lifelong process as much as mental illness took years to develop sometimes even decades. A person could struggle through years of being controlled solely by a mental disorder and will have to face a lifelong effort to get out of it. You may achieve a life beyond the chains of your previous mental illness symptoms but you would still have to bout with intermittent attacks of symptoms.

One crucial factor to all kinds of illnesses is early intervention. Someone who presents symptoms of schizophrenia during earlier stages have a better chance of easier recovery with early intervention than someone who has aggravated case. Likewise, any signs of relapse that are recognized and treated early could define the barrier between going through the same disorder again or completely shutting all doors towards total recovery.

However, recovery from a mental disorder is just one of the many parts of the process. A person suffering from mental illness should also work to restore his mental health or sense of well-being.

Many individuals who have histories of mental illness often resort to a life that is withdrawn from the public due to social stigma and discrimination associated with the mental disorder. This leads to impaired sense of self-worth thus invaliding the whole idea of recovery.

For most people, the hardest stage of the recovery process is not the beginning but the end. In this stage, a person has to reclaim everything that he has lost during the entire period he had the mental illness plus every lost opportunity that he would have taken prior to the onset of symptoms.

Sadly, reclaiming these bits of life is far harder than all the aspects of recovery combined. Going back to “what could have been” takes a very long time as well as mending the damages caused by the mental illness due to very limited opportunities opened to people who have suffered a mental disorder.

But this shouldn’t be. You may not be able to go back to your previous job or do the things that you used to do but you could redirect your life to something different but equally rewarding. This has happened before to other people, it will happen to you.

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Contrary to what most people think, there are many aspects of mental health. In the field of psychology alone, there are other areas of specialization such as neuropsychology, geropsychology and health psychology. There is also what we call school psychologists. These are the counselors in most schools and universities. Another kind is called developmental psychology, which focuses on a man’s psychological development through life. There is also what you call industrial psychology, which focuses on the mechanics of employees in the workplace.

Mental health nurses are those who have graduated the regular nursing course. During the course training, they need to specialize in mental health in order to qualify as mental health nurses.

Doctors who specialize in mental health are commonly called psychiatrists. Each state would impose qualifications before one can practice. For most countries, they are those who graduated the regular physician’s course, and a few years of specialization in psychiatry. There is also a field called psychotherapy, which deals more on counseling and therapy instead of the clinical aspect of treatment.

Mental health jobs can also be found in medical schools where mental health courses are offered.

Aside from those mentioned, there are other jobs in the mental health field. Some of them are medical or hospital social workers, psychiatric technicians and other hospital personnel. Some mental health centers hire other hospital personnel such as dieticians, physical therapists, pharmacists, dentists, laboratory staff, radiologists, speech pathologists, optometrists, and many others.

As for the pay, the salary range for these jobs is quite wide. Depending on a person’s education and experience, one can earn twice as much as those who work in the same position. And like jobs in other industries, companies prefer applicants who are better qualified and trained. This can be seen in their educational background and previous job experiences.

Aside from the skills necessary to carry out their jobs, an unwritten qualification is added, and that is, their ability to care for the patients and listen to their needs. Mental health patients have extra needs than ordinary medical patients. That is why there is a need for mental health workers to be more patient and understanding than workers in other medical fields.

Health care industries shall continue to expand in the coming years. This means that more mental health jobs shall be available. If you want a job in the mental health field, it is easy to find one. You just have to know where to find them. Make a search for jobs wanted within your area. You can visit the website of the medical facility or company that you wish to work in to see their job opportunities. Or you may register in a job support website. These websites not only provide you with a list of the jobs available, they also provide articles on career advice, industry news and articles, and tips on job hunting and interview.

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Mental health counseling has its roots from the later part of 19th century. And as the field of psychology grew, branches began to develop, among them is counseling psychology and clinical counseling- both are useful in mental health assessment and counseling.

While closely associated with clinical psychology, there are still marked differences between the two practices.

For one, counseling psychology is used by psychotherapist and counselors to help patients with milder psychopathological concerns. On the other hand, clinical counseling deals with more severe and advance forms of psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and psychosomatic disorders. Examples of disorders that could be treated by counseling psychology are the stress-related disorders. In essence, these are just minor mental health illness that requires very little (if there is any) medical interventions.

This method tries to address minor psychological concerns and make use of counseling techniques. This is possible since patients subjected under this method are still in control of their mind. For example, people who are distressed due to problematic circumstances could seek the professionals who could render counseling psychology.

Counseling psychology focuses more on the personal problems of the person that hamper his mental health. It helps him resolve problems by using non-directive methods, therefore a counseling psychologist would only open options that will help resolve the problem without being suggestive or authoritative. Also, counseling psychology is more focused on rational thinking instead of unconscious functioning.

Second difference is that counseling psychology adheres to humanistic or person-centered approach. Third, it has a different view on the developmental problems associated with mental disorders.

On the other hand, clinical psychology deals more on severe psychological disorders such as clinical manic depression like unipolar and bipolar disorders, sexual dysfunctions such as exhibitionism, fetishism and sadism, phobias, traumas and substance-abuse or dependency.

Because of a more comprehensive and intensive nature of this field, clinical counseling makes use of psychological assessment tools that further confirm the symptoms of disorders among people with disrupted mental health. Mental health assessment is a medium for evaluating symptoms that a person presents. This gives insights to mental health professionals that will guide them in the preparation, administration and evaluation of treatment methods that are apt to the mental health needs of a patient. The process of assessment requires the use of interviews, physical examinations and clinical observations. Also, assessment tools such as intelligence, symptoms questionnaires, personality and neuropsychological tests are widely used. All these contribute significantly to the diagnostic impressions that will be formulated after all data are collected and studied.

Despite of these differences, counseling psychology and clinical counseling are proven to be very effective as mental health counseling methods. Both advocates the use of talk treatment that could either help resolve the problem for the mental health patient or open up indications that may be pointed out as causes of the development of the disorder. In effect, both types of counseling make mental health therapy and recovery feasible.

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Slowing down

Daily stressors contribute to the development of several mental health disorders. In fact, stress itself is considered as a threat to mental health. It disrupts sleep, thinking and rest and it usually affects the way we function everyday. Thus it is suggested to adopt several methods that will help lessen and manage the negative stressors we are exposed to everyday.

Biofeedback – This method is normally used in treating mental health disorders such as phobias, panic and anxiety. This works by controlling the involuntary muscle functioning such as skin temperature and heart rate and by controlling muscle tension.

Massage therapy – This method advances the belief the tapping, rubbing, and brushing the skin and muscle groups could relieve pent up emotions and internal tension. People suffering from severe cases of stress and post-traumatic disorders are usually advised to take get massage therapy regularly.

Visualization – Another method to lessen tension and stress is to redirect the perception and the individual techniques on visualization. This works by entering into a deep state of relaxation where the person could create relaxing and “friendly” images that will contribute to his well-being and lessen the occurrence of unwanted thoughts that are detrimental to one’s mental health.

Traditional alternative approaches

Ayurdeva – Imported from Indian Traditional Medicine, Ayurdeva is a holistic approach to caring your mental health. This seeks balance on the body energies rather than on the symptoms that affect the body. This system of traditional treatments includes yoga, a widely practiced alternative solution in the Western world these days. Yoga makes use of postures, exercises, stretches and meditation to achieve the balance of body energies.

Native American approaches – Cleansing rituals and chants are part of the Indian Health Services Programs that are focused on treating people suffering from depression, stress-related disorders and anxiety disorders.

Acupuncture – Used in treating many other ailments in the body, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical approach that could also be used as treatment to mental disorders. This makes use of needles with various sizes that are inserted to different pressure points in the body to be able to control its flow of energy.

Diet and Nutrition

According to studies, diet and nutrition affects the manner by which our brains work. If it is deprived with certain nutrients, the brain may fail to function the way it should be.

Vitamin and nutrient intake – According to some studies, there are specific vitamins that our brain needs in order to produce other chemicals that are crucial in maintaining our moods. Also, some vitamins are important in preventing the development of neurological and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, proper intake of these vitamins and minerals plus supplementation of essential nutrients are highly recommended to maintain mental health.

Mental health care does not only need to include medical treatments, support of other approaches is also needed to maximize the possibility of patient recovery.

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A study conducted by the researchers from the Duke University along with other similar studies proved that exercise could help treat depression for 60% of all the participants. This result is similar with the total number of participants who are using medications for their treatment from depression.

However, you don’t have to be a sufferer of a mental illness before you benefit from exercise. You can boost your sense of well-being while walking on the treadmill or by combining yoga and meditation. In a way, exercise could be used as a potential medium for preventing the development of psychological and emotional conditions.

There are three dimensions at which we could look at when examining the benefits of exercise in the mental wellness of a person. Among the less well known is the biological aspect.

One theory suggests that physical workout or exercise could stimulate a part of the brain to release endorphins. Activities that are more likely to trigger the release of endorphins are swimming, cross-country skiing, running, bicycling, aerobics and sports like soccer, football and basketball.

Endorphins are comparable to opiates in a way that they resemble morphine. Endorphins could work in two ways- as a pain reliever (which is produced in response to the stresses brought about by physical work or stress) and as an enhancer of well-being. There are, however, no definite data that could support this claim.

On the other hand, exercise is also found to trigger the release of hormones norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. All these are known to help improve mood and is actually the main effect of Prozac, a known antidepressant.

Increase in these hormones could be best observed in a condition known as “runner’s high”. This feeling during after an acute exercise is directly linked to the increased number of the said hormones. However, there are still no conclusive studies proving that improvements on mood could be facilitated for a longer period of time.

Another is the physiological aspect. Nearly all of the feelings we associate with mental wellness come from our personal evaluation of the way our body feels. Say for instance, if you perceive a stomach pain as a form of stress then you will feel stressed (and sometimes even depression) every time your stomach aches. Likewise, exercise could render feelings such as muscle relaxation and easier breathing which we associate with “feeling better”. While this correlation is yet to have a better scientific grounding, we still could not deny the fact that muscle tension and increased blood flow go together with physical fitness.

No one knows yet how exactly exercise affects mental health. But it is common among patients to view exercise as a good medium to elevate their moods. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Charity Mind nearly two-thirds of all people who said that they use exercise to relieve symptoms of stress and depression believe that exercise actually works for them. The scientific community is yet to understand how this happens though and for now, it remains a truth that people benefit from exercise for mental health.

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Recent as well as previous researches have proven that nutrition (or the lack of it) does have effects on how a person’s brain functions, his moods and his behaviors.

Say for example, a person who has skipped a meal is observably weak, out of focus and irritable. This case worsens when extended to a certain period of time when the person becomes severely moody and indifferent to the demands of his environment thus showing decreased speed in reaction time.

These behaviors occur due to the lack of nutrition supply to the brain. The brain requires high energy and nutrient supply. It comprises, in fact, 20% to 30% of all the energy consumption of the body during rest periods. Thus, any change in diet or nutrition level of the body directly reflects in the mental functioning.

Chronic energy deprivation, such as the case of malnourished people, results to the eventual shutting down of the body by decreasing its activities and redirecting all its energy sources towards the systems that require higher energy supply. This results to altered levels of activities, changes in hormonal levels, lessened immune system efficiency and transport of nutrients and oxygen to certain body parts, all of which could directly or indirectly influence mental health. People with extremely low nutrition are more likely to become sad, depressed and emotional as compared with those who have adequate nutrition.

Newborn babies and fetuses are also susceptible to brain damage if they are subjected to lack of necessary nutrition. The type and degree of damage is dependent on the severity of malnutrition. Also, malnutrition among babies has proven to produce low level of intelligence, cognitive defects as well as functional abnormalities.

Protein, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins all have individual effects on the brain. Lack of supply of these necessary nutrients result to alterations in the activities of the neurotransmitters, a chemical component in the brain that transmit one nerve impulse from one nerve cell to another. Malfunctioning of the transmitters could influence a person’s mood, thinking and even sleep patterns. Additionally, deficient levels of nutrition may result to nerve cell damage that could disrupt cognitive and mental functions.

Neurotransmitters are partly made of amino acids, the building block of protein. Trytophan for example, makes up the neurotransmitter serotonin. If the required amino acid is lacking, the functions of the neurotransmitter could not be executed affecting the normal functioning of the brain. In case of deficient protein consumption and failure to supply the necessary amino acid to make serotonin, the body would experience low mood and perhaps, aggression. On the other hand, diseases that could cause the build up of certain amino acids could lead to brain damage thus affecting the mental health of an individual.

Mood regulation could also be associated with the sufficient intake of dietary fats. Some studies have yielded inconclusive results on the correlation between serotonin level and intake of omega-3 fatty acids, a certain type of fat found only in white fish to stress and symptoms of bipolar disorder (a mood disorder having the representations of both mania and depression).

Directly or indirectly, nutrition has an effect on mental health. Changes in the nutritional intake of a person could lead to alterations in the mental health and vice versa.

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Complications brought about by negative environment

For many children, symptoms of psychological disorders are linked to the negative stressors in the environment. In the United States alone, one in every five children suffers severe physical abuse and one in every group of five lives below the poverty line. Additionally, psychosocial structures in cities where there is poor housing expose children to violence that could detriment their mental health. (You can imagine how many children in other countries which have far lower economic status and far fewer programs for child protection are subjected to negative stressors.)

Both of the above stressors are considered as traumatic experiences to children that could resurface as psychological disorders during adulthood.

A negative or a positive environment during childhood explains why there are adults who are more likely than not to develop psychological disorders and there are those who are not affected by these at all.

For example, children who repeatedly experienced sexual trauma or sexual abuse are most likely to develop dissociative disorders such as multiple personality disorder. The rate of victimization within intimate relationships only reinforces the dissociative response. Also, repetitive exposure to violence or to the activities of a dysfunctional environment could also contribute to the development of severe dissociative disorders. These mental illnesses root from the child’s effort to deny the violence, abuse, or trauma they experience as coping mechanism so as to protect his mental wellness. However, failure to completely get over these experiences would result to the impairment of his psychological wellness and even his social and emotional well-being.

Parental deprivations

Some researchers assumed that the large difference in number of psychological disorders being treated these days as compared to prevalence in the past century is largely contributed by dysfunctional family structures and parental deprivations. Indifference and neglect by familial figures, maternal-social deprivations, isolation and separation from parents are viewed as the root causes of psychological disorders such as depressions, mental retardation, psychomotor impairments and the manifestations of autistic-like behaviors among children.

Pathogenic Parent-Child Relationship

The traumatic interpersonal relationship between a parent or a parent-figure and a child is viewed as a negative environment for the child’s growth and development. This relationship only means that their relationship is structured in the manner that it damages a child’s psychological well-being. These give stress to certain beliefs that are psychologically unfavorable to the child such as irrational beliefs on self-blame, irrational explanations on traumatic experiences, maladaptive behaviors, unconscious guilt, shame and doubt about oneself. These beliefs are very powerful and could lead the child to over generalize negative incidents.

Children experience all sorts of negative environments including war and violence, daily stress, economic problems and accelerating negative effects of technological changes. But among these, the most aggravated is the disabling relationship he has with his immediate environment- his parents, his family and his direct interaction to his society. Above everything else, there is a need to modify these negative environments in order to develop children with better mental health and in the future, adults who can readily adapt to the stressors from their environments.

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Clinical research and laboratory observations consistently arrive at a conclusion that mental health disorders are products of the accumulation and interaction of several contributing factors. It would have been easier to identify each disorder if there is only one cause to all meal health disorders but that simply isn’t the truth. In reality, all mental disorders could root from several causes such as an environment that is conducive to the development of a mental disorder or individual genetic make-up that programs the brain (or the faulty components of the brain) to develop into something non-normal.

Saying that it’s all about the pathological make-up of the brain that causes the mental health disorders is simplistic, to say the least. Looking at the strange development of these disorders would reveal that there are actually at least 3 contributing factors that may be seen as potential causes, all of which have varying degrees. This means that a particular culprit could be more dominant than the other.

First with the physical causes. This bracket of causes is biological in nature. Each individual has a distinct and unique biological make-up that dictates the direction of his health, may it be physical or mental. Some people are born with inherent tendency to develop a specific mental disorder in comparison with other people while others are less prone to risks. This cause also covers the genetic make-up of an individual, the biological make-up and the events in life that affects the physical body (such as a trauma on the head or substance abuse).

Second are the environmental or social causes. Nature VS Nurture has been a great debate in the scientific community but research confirms that a person experience a spilt-half of both. Nature of course are the physical attributes of an individual while Nurture reflects more on the social structures and physical, emotional and mental environments to which an individual was exposed to. This factor tells us more on how an individual grew up, the interaction of influences that affected all facets of his growth and the mechanisms he used to cope with a specific environment.

It is observable that some mental disorders are caused primarily by the consequences of experience brought about by the environment. For example, people (especially children) living in a stressful, chaotic and unstable environment are more likely to develop mental illnesses than those individuals living in peaceful environment. This consequence is due to the fact that there are certain social and environmental components that may become risk factors to the development of mental health problems.

Third is the psychological factor. This particular factor tells us more on the psychological state of a person, his coping mechanisms to certain life events that could otherwise end up with psychological disorders, his perception on his own self and his environment and thought patterns that affect his mental health. For example, someone who has gone beyond the limit of his stress coping capacity is likely to break down mentally as a result of the psyche’s automatic “lock down” to protect itself.

For the majority of people lacking mental health, it is often the case of triggering the mental health to break down through series factors that have eventually contributed to the cause of mental health disorder.

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Most mental health organizations recognize that the accelerating changes in technology on top of unhealthy lifestyle, negative environmental stressors, and dysfunctional family contribute substantially to the well being of an individual. Americans, in particular, find it difficult to cope with a very busy society. Also, coping mechanisms are unhealthy such as smoking, drug-dependence and other harmful measures.

What are the major stressors in America?

Stress due to financial problems is the leading stressor that bothers most Americans. Almost 50% of our population is bombarded with financial issues that include mortgage payments, monthly bills and deficiencies on bank payments. On the other hand, 34% of all Americans are affected by health issues. A third major stressor is unemployment and underemployment affecting 32% of the American population.

What does statistics say?

In every four American adults there is one that has a diagnosable mental disorder. This translates to 26% of the total population or 57.7 million Americans who are 18 years old and above. However, serious mental illness occurs in one out of 17 individuals. While this is a significantly lower figure as compared with the general number of people with mental disorders, we still cannot negate the fact that mental disorders are the leading sickness in America, not cancer or obesity-related diseases and disorders.

Perhaps among the highest, if not the highest, rate of mental disability is depression or major depressive disorder which affects nearly 15% of the adults’ general population. For ages 18 years old and above, depression occurs in close to 7% of the entire population. Mood disorder, on the other hand, affects 9.5% of the total American population with the age of 18 and above. 40 million Americans are susceptible to developing anxiety disorders while there are 15 million Americans suffering from social phobia. Approximately, there are 6.8 million or 3% of the American population is experiencing diagnosable generalized anxiety disorder or (GAD) and 3.5% have representations of Post-Traumatic Disorder. 1% has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 6 million adults have panic disorder and Schizophrenia makes 2.4 of the American adult population suffer from its symptoms. (Note: The age of the sample size for all figures are 18 years old and above unless stipulated.)

Who is the most stressed American?

The most stressed Americans are the parents while people who feel lesser stress are those who are college students. Their stressors come from interpersonal relationships, financial obligations and career or employments issues. While some mentally ill people may not be aware of some of their problems due to the nature of their disorders, it is still viewed that they are among the people who feel high levels of stress which come from social stigma, personal problems, unemployment and health.

What are the coping strategies?

More than 80% of all stressed Americans find using mass media such as tv and music as a good way to cope to stress. Second to this is through seeking support from family members and ranking third is through meditation and/or prayer.

Let’s face it. Regardless of the fact that our government, NGOs and mental health organizations are working closely to make America a bit better place by improving their services, mental health illness still affect our population significantly.

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