SOCW 6443 WK 10 responses
Responder to two of your colleagues’ posts who selected a different approach than you did. Support or challenge your colleague’s choice. I have provided my post and the two colleagues post please respond to the two posts separately using references and intext cite to support the responses.
My post
Alternative Approaches to Treat Anxiety, Depression, and Insomnia
When treating patients with anxiety, most patients require psychological approaches (Preston et al., 2017). Some of these approaches are relaxation training, psychotherapy, stress management, and cognitive-behavioral treatment. However, the health professional can opt for other programs such as regular exercise. Such an approach has proven to be successful and very beneficial to a client suffering from anxiety. According to Preston et al. (2018), psychological approaches are good alternatives to medications when treating acute stress. Research indicates that holistic treatments are the most effective when treating depression. Patients can learn effective ways to regain normalcy in life, and use some of the health tools.
Some of the alternative treatments that a therapist can recommend include reflexology techniques, meditation, and exercise. Like anxiety and depression, a therapist can recommend exercise, meditation, and relaxation techniques to solve a lack of sleep problems. Also, a change in diet can serve a purpose in solving insomnia problems. Although alternative methods are excellent in treating these disorders, the FDA in the USA does not fully recommend using these alternative approaches. Some of the benefits associated with these approaches are that they do not have side effects like medications. They also improve the client’s health besides solving treating the disorder under question.
However, there are some disadvantages; for example, the FDA does not fully support the USA’s approaches. The approaches are also not suitable when the physician is not supervising an approach like exercise. A patient can opt to ignore the physician’s directives. Healthcare professionals’ main role in offering alternative treatments includes ensuring that the patient follows the right procedures, for example, during exercise and relaxation. Failure to follow the correct exercise approach can lead to ineffective treatments.
References
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2017). Health. Retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/
Preston, J. D., O’Neal, J. H., & Talaga, M. C. (2017). Handbook of clinical psychopharmacology for therapists (8th ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Chapter 20, “Over-the-Counter Dietary Supplements and Herbal Products” (pp. 239-242)
Peers 1 post to respond to:
Noelia Antonio
RE: Discussion – Week 10
Individuals may seek alternative approaches to treatment out of fear of side effects that may be occurring as a result of their pharmacological treatment, or may even refuse to take this approach. Individuals who have taken alternative approaches may not even disclose this information with their physician (Nahas & Sheikh, 2011). Some individuals may take alternative approaches that involve either consuming alternative treatments or not consuming anything, and instead taking a more mind-body based approach, or incorporate them together, or incorporate them with medication.
This mind-body approach can incorporate relaxation techniques or mindfulness intervention. In individuals with depression, this mind-body approach has been shown to improve physical and mental health, improve quality of life, and improve functioning. This technique was found to be more effective than psychoeducation, but not more effective than medication or cognitive behavioral therapy. However, this approach would be beneficial for individuals who do not want to take any medication, or if they have difficulty in accessing other forms of treatment (Burnett-Zeigler, Schuette, Victorson, et al., 2016). Individuals may also decide to consume alternative substances. Consuming alternative products other than prescribed medications, for example, St. John’s wort, can provide benefits as well. St. John’s wort, along with exercise, was found to provide equivalent benefits to antidepressants, with fewer side effects (Nahas & Sheikh, 2011).
The role of the mental health professional is to go over any fear or hesitation the individual may have with taking medication. Their feelings or concerns should be validated. The mental health professional should educate the individuals on regular and alternative approaches, but ultimately, allow the individuals to make the final decision on their own. The mental health professional should closely monitor to evaluate progress. If the individual is taking a complementary product along with another medication, drug interactions should be taken into consideration and monitored to prevent any adverse effects (Nahas & Sheikh, 2011).
References:
Burnett-Zeigler, I., Schuette, S., Victorson, D., & Wisner, K. L. (2016). Mind–Body Approaches to treating mental health symptoms among disadvantaged populations: A comprehensive review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22(2), 115-124.
Nahas, R., & Sheikh, O. (2011). Complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 57(6), 659–663.
Peer 2s post to respond to:
Diana Thomas
RE: Discussion – Week 10
Psychopharmacology and social work
Anxiety Disorders are one of the most common mental health conditions in the United States. It is estimated that 40 million
Adults ages 18 and older have anxiety disorders. There are alternative therapy’s that have becoming more and more popular. The goal is to improve health and receive the symptoms with fewer side effects or no side effects at all. Here are some alternative treatments that can help as follows: (Legg,2017)
Limit your caffeine intake- caffeine can give on the jitters, increase your blood pressure that can lead to a heart attack.
Avoid alcohol and nicotine -can make symptoms worse
Eat a balance diet -avoid processed or fast foods, Limit your intake of sweets
Drink more water
Get regular exercise and walking
Get plenty of rest
Massage your muscles
Practice relaxation techniques
Breathing techniques
Yoga
Acupuncture
Supplements
Stay calm (Legg,2017)
There are some other exciting advancements that have been made in science with helping to fight anxiety and panic. In the past, herbs, enzymes, vitamins and minerals have been identified to be effective in calming anxious nerves of both women and men. The powerful results have been combined ad are believed to be even more effective. Some of the compounds are as follows:
L-theanine- which is found green tea and produces tranquility as little as 15 minutes, GABA, Aa neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and helps ease anxious feeling. It stimulates the release of dopamine responsible for a sense of wellbeing.
Ashwagandha Root- is used in Indian tradition in health tonics and calming serums. It helps to calm anxiety and reduce panic and boosting low mood.
Brahmi- mild sedative to health emotional stress, concentrations, and promote better cognitive functions
Tryptophan-an essential amino acid that the body converts into serotonin.
Passionflower-helps from chronic stress-reduces anxiety from withdraws of opiates and other drugs.
Magnesium-lacking in this element may cause panic, nervousness and stress
Niacin-is vitamin, b-that helps the body to have better concentration, less fatigues, with better mood.
Vitamin b complex- helps to maintain proper brain function (Ulyemura,2018)
Some people have fears of alternative treatment for anxiety disorders, they fear it will not work, they fear being stigmatized and general mistrust of conventional treatment may cause obstacle to seeking help. Another problem is that many psychiatrists are not up to date with the latest research. It is understandable that individuals suffering from anxiety disorders want to seek alternative treatments even more so because they can do it in their own homes. But it can be extremely costly, comes with misinformation’s and is not regulated. (Ulyemura,2018)
I feel the most beneficial alternative to anxiety counseling and self-help. One must be willing to find ways to utilize non-pharma logical intervention. It is always good to talk to your doctor before beginning a new treatment regimen. This will help to minimize potential complications. It is your goal to feel better, incorporating these practices into your treatment plan can be very helpful. (Legg,2017)
References
Britio,J(2017) How to stop and anxiety attack?
Legg,T (20170 Alternative treatment or anxiety , Journal of Psychiatry
ULYEMURA,B (2018) Should you consider Alternative treatments for anxiety disorders?
https://www.ncbi.nim.nih,.gov
