Destigmatizing Complex Mental Health Conditions
In the past, we have posted articles about how mental health awareness has increased and how various conditions have become more visible. This is a huge step forward in destigmatizing mental health and providing hope for anyone with those conditions or a loved one experiencing them.
It is amazing to see the strides we have made for mental health awareness even in the past two decades. And while some conditions such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD have received great public awareness, other mental illnesses remain in the shadows. Most notably, complex mental health problems such as schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder (BPD). This can lead people with these conditions to feel isolated and misunderstood when what they need above all else is quality mental health treatment and support from those around them.
This Independent article advocates for educating the public about these conditions. Understanding more about what they entail, what it’s like living with them, and how to best support people experiencing them is crucial to decreasing shame and stigma. Having complex mental health problems is not a choice, just in the same way that no one would choose to have cancer or a heart condition. Like other illnesses, they are treatable and people with them can go on to live deeply fulfilling and connected lives with effective and holistic care.
The Importance of Evidence Based Treatments for BPD
This article lists three of the most stigmatized complex mental health problems. For two of them (psychosis and schizophrenia) psychiatric medication is a frontline treatment, but this is not the case for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). There are no psychotropic medications that target BPD specifically. Instead, Evidence Based Treatments such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT), and Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) are the gold standard treatments.
At the Youth and Family Institute in Los Angeles, we specialize in DBT . We also collaborate closely with psychiatrists to provide Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) to our patients. There are several evidence based treatments and countless ways to build a life worth living.
Source:
“It’s time to end the fear and stigma of complex mental health problems such as schizophrenia” – Published for The Independent by Katie Fisher on January 13, 2020. Read article.
