Psychotherapy as help with mental health problems
Psychotherapy is committed work supported by a psychotherapist. If mental health problems make it difficult to cope with everyday life, study, work or relationships, it’s worth considering whether psychotherapy could help.
Psychotherapy may include rehabilitative psychotherapy supported by Kela, psychotherapy implemented with a service voucher granted by public health care or psychotherapy at the expense of the employee.
You can get help in different challenging life situations from many kinds of discussion work professionals. However, the treatment of serious mental disorders requires a professional with experience and a title whose use is protected and controlled. Such professionals can be found on Valvira’s website.
Psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, therapist – what’s the difference?
Psychologists have studied the functioning of the mind at university. They are psychology experts who work, for example, in mental health and substance abuse services, family counselling clinics, hospitals, schools and occupational health care.
Psychiatrists are medical specialists who are entitled to make diagnoses and prescribe medicines, unlike psychologists and psychotherapists. The B statement required for Kela’s rehabilitative psychotherapy must always be obtained from a psychiatrist.
Psychotherapist is a protected title of a health care professional who has studied mental health and gone through their own therapy. Only a psychotherapist can offer psychotherapy.
Therapist or brief therapist can be anyone. Many of them may have competence and training related to mental health, but they are not bound by the same obligations and responsibilities as psychotherapists.koulutusta, mutta heitä eivät sido samat velvollisuudet ja vastuut kuin psykoterapeutteja.
What are the most common approaches in psychotherapy?
It’s important to know the differences between psychotherapy approaches, as different approaches affect the situations and backgrounds they are best suited for and how they deal with mental health problems. A psychotherapist must always be trained in the form of psychotherapy that they offer. Besides a suitable approach, it’s essential to find a therapist with whom the therapy relationship feels natural and good.
Cognitive psychotherapy
Cognitive psychotherapy examines the connection between thoughts, emotions, behaviour and bodily feelings. Observing your ways of thinking and acting can increase the flexibility of the mind and ease psychological symptoms.
Although, depending on the therapist, more or less emphasis can be placed on childhood experiences or earlier life experiences in cognitive psychotherapy, the aim is to learn new ways of working in everyday life. However, it’s important to understand where different ideas, emotions and behaviours stem from.
In cognitive psychotherapy, the therapist is an active discussion participant. Mutual interaction is at the centre of therapy.
Cognitive psychotherapy also involves practising new behaviours in practice. Some therapists assign tasks between meetings to strengthen new skills.
More information about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and cognitive analytic psychotherapy (CAT).
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
The purpose of psychodynamic psychotherapy is to increase people’s awareness of their emotions, experiences and habits.
In psychodynamic therapy, one of the key working methods is the processing of childhood experiences, which increases understanding of their impact on the present. In addition, internal conflicts and typical behaviours in different relationships are studied. Dreams may also be discussed.
The therapist’s activity in interaction may vary according to the therapist, but they typically give the person the most space to express their thoughts. In psychodynamic therapy, it’s important that there are regular meetings. The topics discussed vary according to the person’s own wishes, and tasks are typically not carried out in meetings or between meetings.
Solution-oriented psychotherapy
Individual resources are at the centre of solution-oriented psychotherapy. Solution-oriented psychotherapy focuses on the present and the future, and childhood and earlier life experiences are hardly discussed.
As its name suggests, solution-centred psychotherapy focuses on finding solutions to challenging life situations and moving forward in life. Instead of focusing on problems, the aim is to find opportunities and strengths that help you achieve the goals.
Trauma psychotherapy
Trauma psychotherapy focuses on the treatment of various post-traumatic disorders. These may include, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or dissociation disorder. There may be recurring traumatic events, such as domestic violence, growing up in a family with substance abuse problems or sexual violence, in the background
In trauma psychotherapy, it’s essential to obtain information about the traumatisation and its consequences and to learn to identify different situations that may trigger trauma symptoms. It’s important that the person gradually starts to control the bodily and mental reactions caused by trauma memories. The therapy also deals with events and situations caused by the trauma itself. EDMR therapy, or eye movement therapy, can be used as one method of trauma therapy.
You can read more about each approach and other approaches, for example, on the Minduu website.
When should I seek psychotherapy?
Anyone can fall ill with a mental disorder. Some fall ill already when they are young, others only when they are adults. Both genetic and environmental factors can affect the onset of the disease. If mental health problems make it difficult to cope with everyday life, study, work or relationships, it’s worth considering whether psychotherapy could help.
Psychotherapy requires that your mental condition and life situation are good enough to have the energy to process matters. For example, other treatment may be needed in the acute phase of severe depression or a crisis situation, and psychotherapy is only appropriate when the patient’s condition has somewhat improved. Although different forms of psychotherapy have been developed for many severe disorders, it’s advisable for professionals to assess whether psychotherapy is yet timely.
Unfortunately, substance abuse and mental health care are still separate from each other, which may make it more difficult for many people to get help. For rehabilitative psychotherapy reimbursed by Kela, a possible substance abuse problem must be treated in such a way that it does not prevent the effective implementation of the therapy – in other words, no B statement for psychotherapy can be obtained if there is a substance abuse problem. However, substance abuse problems and mental health problems often go hand in hand, which is why it would be important for the care system to provide assistance for both problems at the same time.
How much does therapy cost?
Even if Kela grants rehabilitative psychotherapy, the person will always have to pay the part exceeding the maximum reimbursement rate. This amount is determined according to the therapist’s pricing.
How can I apply for Kela’s rehabilitation psychotherapy?
A condition for a decision on rehabilitation psychotherapy is that the therapy supports the progress of studies, moving to working life, staying in working life, or returning to working life. It’s important to mention this in your application.
Not everyone can apply for psychotherapy reimbursed by Kela. A person must be between the ages of 16 and 67, and their ability to work or study must be threatened due to a mental health disorder. In addition, treatment lasting at least three months after receiving a diagnosis and a B statement at most one year old from the treating psychiatrist is required. You don’t need to know the name of the psychotherapist yet.
Kela grants the benefit for one year at a time, and it must always be applied for again after each year of therapy. The B statement written by a psychiatrist must also be obtained each year. The new application can also be written by, for example, an occupational health physician.
Psychotherapy supported by Kela can be granted for a maximum of three years. On special grounds, Kela may grant a new rehabilitative psychotherapy period after five years from the end of the previous period.
Intensive medical rehabilitation
Another option for rehabilitation is intensive medical rehabilitation, which is granted to people under the age of 65 who have significant difficulties in coping with and participating in everyday activities due to their disability or illness. The objectives of intensive medical rehabilitation are not treatment-related and the rehabilitation is not directly related to medical care.
Because you may have to wait a long time for psychotherapy, one option may be online therapy. Although online therapy is not psychotherapy as such, a physician’s referral is required. Online therapy is primarily referred to as a self-care programme in which the therapist supports independent progress in different contents and tasks. Online therapy often lasts for a few months, and in the best case scenario, it can be as successful as face-to-face psychotherapy. Read more about online therapy on the MentalHub.fi website
How to choose a therapist?
Rehabilitative psychotherapy supported by Kela can only be provided by psychotherapists approved by Valvira who have the right to use the professional title of psychotherapist. The therapists who have provided their contact details to Kela’s search service can be found in Kela’s service provider search. If you are looking for a therapist through other routes, it’s important to remember to check their Kela qualification. You can search for therapists, for example, on the Minduu website. You can also ask for recommendations from your family and friend or in health care.
It’s important that it’s as easy as possible to meet and talk to the therapist. Above all, a therapeutic relationship is a relationship of trust that often strengthens with time. Many people go through very painful and difficult things in therapy, which emphasises the relationship with the therapist. In some cases, it’s also useful that the therapist has special competence in topics and life situations that are central to the client. These may include personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders. In addition, for example, it may be important for a LGBTQ person that the therapist has a special understanding of gender and sexual minorities.
If your financial situation allows, it’s good to meet with several therapists. Many therapists enable a first visit at a lower cost than a normal visit.
