Overview of Behavioral Healthcare Industry in the United States
According to Cummings (2016), behavioral healthcare is the study of a person’s emotions and behaviors that are about his/her mental well being and also the ability to function in their day to day activities and their everyday lives. Behavioral healthcare is mostly administered to persons with common mental illnesses or drugs and substance abuse issues. It is usually a combination of counseling and medical treatment from relevant personnel (Crowley & Kirschner, 2015).
Behavioral healthcare and therapy are mostly used to treat the following depression, anxiety, panic, disorders, and at times anger. It is also used to treat conditions and medical complications, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and substance abuse (Robichaud, 2019).
According to data collected in 2011 indicated that more than forty-one million in the United States adults had a mental illness, and almost twenty million had a substance use disorder. Forty-one million U.S adults equal to 18% of the total population and 20 million equivalent to 8% of the total population. Data collected in the year 2001 and 2004 showed that nearly 14% of the U.S adolescent girls and 7% of the U.S adolescent has a mental disorder or mood disorders (Merikangas et al. 2010). In 2012 around 24% of the U.S 8th graders and 12th graders used alcohol in the past years (Liu et al. 2007). This clearly shows that health care organizations need to be managed carefully and with high leadership skills to help these affected persons. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
There are various types of behavioral healthcare, and this usually depends on the patients’ needs. A patient with drug and substance abuse will receive different health care from one with mental disorders. Healthcare includes system desensitization, partial hospitalization, telepsychiatry, and telemental health (Matsumoto, Jones & Brown, 2003).
System desensitization. System desensitization mostly depends on perfect relaxation, and this method is usually used for people with fears (phobia). This type of therapy often uses classical conditioning principles. It aims at removing the way a person responds to the concern and substitute it with a relaxing effect slowly and procedurally using conditioning (Shapiro & Solomon, 2010). Lane (2009) suggested three steps in the treatment using system desensitization. The first step is to teach the patient on ways to relax his/her muscles and maintain normal breathing. Relating can be done by meditation, which is crucial in the therapy. The second step is the patient will create a phobia pyramid and stages of the fears from less feared to most fear. The third stage is for the patient to work his / her way up the hierarchy (Sadock & Sadock, 2011).
Partial hospitalization. Partial hospitalization is usually optional to the patients who are incredibly sick, but they do not need specific services from the hospital. This often referred to as a “day program,” which requires at most 6 hrs of a patient’s day (Granello, Granello & Lee, 1999). It offers drug and substance abuse and mental disorder services. It may be run through a hospital or any other certified facility. Group activities, individual counseling, and educational session are part of the day program.
Telepsychiatry and telemental health care. Telepsychiatry and telemental health care is a behavioral healthcare service that is offered from a remote location via video calls or email (Myers & Turvey, 2012). These services are usually provided to people who have a tight schedule or are house-bound. This service enables the therapists and health personnel’s to engage with their clients and also helps in breaking the distance barrier.
Types of Diseases that Behavioral Healthcare Addresses
Bipolar disorder. According to Grande et al. (2016), bipolar disorder is a mental disease that victims experience sudden shifts in their emotions and moods. Bipolar disorder is characterized by depression and elevated feelings, and people with bipolar disorders have a hard time maintaining their beliefs in their day to day lives (Belmaker, 2004).
Schizophrenia disorder. Schizophrenia disorder is a chronic mental disorder. It usually is characterized by hallucinations and patients unable to think correctly. The victims also lack the motivation to do any substantial thing (Lewis & Levitt, 2002).
Addiction Leshner (1999) stated that addictions happen when a person’s body and mind crahttps://studygroom.com/substance-abuse-4/ve something and react negatively if not used. Gradually addiction starts to interfere with the life of the affected, and it may lead to health issues and financial constraints and even bankruptcy (Ziedonis et al. 2006).