Mental health concerns and addictions are at an all-time high across the United States. With nearly 30 million people each year suffering from mental health issues that can lead to addiction, it is imperative that we craft and deliver solutions that address this crisis.
Why Counseling Is a Critical Component to Total Health
Counseling is one of the most beneficial professions in existence today, yet many fail to see its value in helping to create happier, healthier lives. Humans crave relationships and connections with others, and in learning to foster healthy connections with those we love and value, our mental, physical, and emotional health are greatly improved. New Horizon Counseling Center has formed its business on the foundation and belief that these relationships are vital to a peaceful, fulfilling life. Consider these reasons to incorporate counseling into a total plan for health and wellness:
Counseling helps to improve mood and lower anxiety and stress
Counselors use several techniques to improve the health and wellbeing of their clients. Several studies point to the significant benefits that counseling has on issues like depression and anxiety, precursors to addiction.
Counseling can reduce symptoms of OCD and PTSD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, and PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, are crippling mental/emotional conditions that can greatly reduce the quality of one’s life. Being able to talk things through with a counselor and take a more observant stance of one’s own behavior and actions helps to reduce anxiety around certain behaviors, helping to break patterns that have reduced one’s quality of life.
Counseling can help to reduce medical costs and improve physical health
There is a significant link between physical and mental wellness. When a patient can treat underlying mental health afflictions and addictions, it is very common to see an improvement in overall physical health as well. Fewer trips to the doctor with a racing heartbeat mean significant savings in medical costs as well.
Counseling can help teach skills and educate patients
The process of explaining medical and mental health conditions and treatment options is called psychoeducation. People frequently come to counseling, well aware that they are suffering from mental and physical afflictions, but they have not been educated as to their specific cause or origin. They have not been taught skills to manage or reduce symptoms that may be impacting them daily. Through the process of counseling, a patient is better able to understand the origin of their specific issue, as well as learn strategies for managing and dealing with thoughts and behaviors that may exacerbate the condition.
Getting involved
If you have a heart for those who suffer from physical and mental afflictions that cause suffering, you are not alone. The New Horizon Counseling Center Outreach Program allows you to impact your community in wonderful ways while deepening your own awareness of what it means to be truly healthy. The outreach team serves both disconnected and underserved populations by working with physicians, hospitals, shelters, and treatment programs to find and engage clients, promoting a better pathway to health and healing.
New Horizon places an emphasis on community outreach; its outreach team works tirelessly to promote access to care in surrounding neighborhoods. With a passion for health and wellness, we work with team members and clients alike to promote a positive, proactive path to healing. For more information on how you can get involved as an outreach team member, visit our website. Your path to healing and fulfillment starts here!
