Professional help & Treatment

It is self-evident that whilst some problems and issues are best treated by specialised professionals, others are not. How do you choose which is the one for you? The general consensus seems to be that we should only seek professional help immediately if we are in:

·        A life-threatening situation.

·        An unsafe living situation or dangerous relationship.

·        We are experiencing thoughts or urges to harm ourselves or someone else.

·        We are being abused (sexually, physically or verbally).

·        We find ourselves abusing (alcohol, narcotics, others, self, animals etc).

In such situations we are told to remove ourselves from the abusive situation (e.g. leave home) and make contact with the most appropriate crisis service.

What is appropriate depends on the nature of the danger. It could be a local rape crisis centre or domestic violence shelter, childline etc.

We should only call the emergency services if we are unable to think of anyone more appropriate. Or simply can't think of anyone better to call. We should call the emergency services

·        If we are feeling suicidal (want to end it all)

·        If we are actually attempting suicide

·        Homicidal (want to kill someone else)

In these situations we should call the emergency services. We could also contact our local mental health crisis team.

The professionals at the other end of the phone, should be able to help us to stay safe and ‘signpost’ us to appropriate crisis counselling or whatever agency is appropriate in our circumstance.

If your particular issue can wait and it does not put you or another person in danger, call a crisis hotline, domestic abuse hotline, community mental (or behavioural) health centre, therapist, counsellor, psychiatrist or psychologist, and make an appointment to see a professional as soon as is possible.  

These people can help us to cope.

If we need emergency medical attention, we should immediately go to our local hospital’s emergency  department.

If we experience hallucinations (meaning that we hear voices, see things or smell odours that others don’t hear, see or smell), we should seek help from a professional therapist, psychologist or counsellor.

We should also seek out the help of a medical professional, such as a psychiatrist, to discuss the possibility of medication.

Medication is acclaimed to be the only proven means of lessening or stopping hallucinations. But be wary of medication. It is unwise to regard medication as the only answer to your problems.