Counseling is a profession that thrives on teamwork.
Many of my clients benefit from the cooperative effort of several different types of healthcare professionals. Some of them are referred to my office by a primary care provider such as their family doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant.
And, with the client’s permission, our offices consult as needed, to provide the best care.
One thing counselors don’t do is prescribe medicine. In most states, that responsibility is left to a physician’s office. But in some cases, we might confer with the client’s primary health care provider to discuss the possibility of a certain type of medication.
Sometimes, we consult a psychiatrist, a physician who specializes in the types of medicine that are prescribed for mental health symptoms. Again, the client’s permission is necessary for any such consultation to take place.
In other words, in counseling, you are the boss of you.
A lot of my clients don’t even need to take medicine to help them feel better. And for those who might benefit from a certain medication, it is important that they have all the information necessary in order to make a good decision about it.
Otherwise, some clients might deprive themselves of something that would really be helpful to their recovery.
For example, many people do not realize that antidepressant medication is not addictive.
Sometimes when I mention the possibility of an antidepressant for a client who is severely depressed, or whose symptoms do not seem to be improving, the client may say they are afraid of becoming dependent on the medication.
I tell them they are more likely to get dependent on an aspirin, because at least it’s immediately rewarding.
But there is nothing in the chemistry of an antidepressant that could possibly become addictive to a human brain.
In fact, many of the antidepressants can also be used to treat symptoms of anxiety. Since some of the antianxiety drugs do have the potential for addiction, the antidepressant option can be welcome news for a client who is concerned about becoming dependent on a particular medication.
It is sometimes helpful, too, to look at the difference between depending on a medication and needing it. For example, a person with diabetes might need to take insulin, and a person with severe or chronic depression might need to take an antidepressant.
But this kind of need is a physical one, and one that will make the person’s life better.
As opposed to a craving for a drug that will make your life worse.
And nobody ever craves an antidepressant. In fact, it takes a few weeks for them even to start taking effect in any noticeable way.
And even then, they don’t directly affect your moods. They just stimulate your brain to do what it needs to do naturally, and which it hasn’t been doing enough of.
Tuck this information away in case you ever need to remember it.
Because nobody should ever have to feel bad unnecessarily.
Julia Cochran is a licensed professional counselor in Rincon and a psychology instructor at Armstrong State University. She can be reached at 912-772-3072 or by email at JCochranPhD@GileadCounseling.com. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Armstrong State University.