O MH telehealth services are designed to enhance care delivery for our local patients who meet in person with their providers, and to extend the specialty services that we offer to others who may not otherwise be able to access our providers face to face on a regular basis due to schedule restrictions or physical location.

Millions of individuals struggle with various mental health issues each year but receiving the necessary treatment can be difficult for some. In fact, globally, the World Health Organization reports that approximately 450 million people have some form of mental health disorder but nearly two-thirds of them never seek help from a professional.

The Most Common Mental Health Problems

According to the American Psychological Association, “about 85 percent of licensed psychologists reported that they frequently or very frequently provided services to patients/clients with anxiety disorders, and 84 percent frequently or very frequently provided services to patients/clients with depressive disorders.” The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. These realities serve to fuel a core mission of OptiMindHealth, which is to improve access to quality mental health care.

The anxiety disorders among the most common include:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Phobias
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Other more common mental health problems are Major Depressive Disorder and Persistent Depressive Disorder but individuals struggling with any of these (or other) mental illnesses, are likely to also struggle with co-occurring disorders or dual diagnoses and/or physical disorders.

Despite this, many still are not able to commit to getting the help they need to live fulfilling lives.

Living With Mental Illness

These disorders cause a myriad of mental, physical and emotional symptoms ranging from agoraphobia to exhaustion and burnout. For people who struggle with PTSD, for example, symptoms may include:

• Emotional numbness
• Irritability
• Inability to sleep
• Flashbacks of traumatic events
• Intense psychological distress

Conversely, depression – which is often associated with anxiety disorders – can make simply waking up in the morning a grueling task. Individuals struggling with depression may experience mild to severe symptoms such as:

• Feelings of sadness
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
• Appetite changes
• Fatigue
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Difficulty concentrating
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Some mental health issues are short-term – such as working through the difficulty of a divorce or death of a loved one – and some are more severe and need longer-term treatment and an organized and coordinated healthcare plan.

Barriers to Treatment

The consequences of not receiving professional care can be devastating. Living with a mental health issue makes life difficult for those who need help, and there are many barriers to receiving the right kind of help to overcome these challenges. Specifically:

• Stigma – the fear of judgment when seeking help for a mental illness.
• Financial Barriers – Some are concerned with the cost of receiving care and some lack the necessary insurance coverage.
• Lack of Desire – In one study, researchers found that 63.8 percent of those with a disorder that needed treatment who were questioned, cited “desire to handle the problem on one’s own” as their primary reason for not receiving treatment.
• Logistics – sometimes the time and/or distance necessary to receive treatment is too much. Some may avoid taking off work or school because they don’t want to lose the hours. Lack of transportation or living in urban areas can also interfere with receiving quality mental health care.

How OptiMindHealth Can Help

Having an understanding of the complex ways our biology, mental processes, experiences, relationships, and social interactions affect our lives, counselors, coaches, psychologists, and psychiatrists are able to help individuals navigate through the haziness of mental health issues.

One study showed that many individuals struggle with a specific quandary that interferes with their ability to get the help they need. Specifically, individuals struggling to manage their issues are too overwhelmed to think about making lifestyle changes. Additionally, it was found that when mental illness symptoms are not adequately treated unhealthy behaviors are unlikely to be discontinued.

This is where an OptiMindHealth professional can help the most. By understanding you and your challenges, and knowing which questions to ask, our professionals will attempt to lead you to the answers you already have within yourself, while addressing your most challenging symptoms with practical, proven, standardized treatment approaches. This empowers you and allows you to make the changes you need to make to realize and become your ideal self.

A New Way to Heal

A growing trend in the area of mental health is that of “telehealth” or “telemental health.” It is defined as “delivery of health or mental health services by a healthcare professional that are not provided in-person” and despite it being referred to as a “new” way of receiving help, it’s actually been utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs for quite a long time as a way to help individuals who are a distance away.

Advantages of Telehealth

There are many benefits to participating in telehealth sessions with your mental health professional at OptiMindHealth. It’s a way for individuals in more rural places to receive professional behavioral health treatment conveniently and on a regular basis. It’s a way for those who don’t have the time to drive to a physical location or who have mobility problems to receive the needed care.

In addition, being able to check in with your mental healthcare provider remotely allows you to stay within the comfort of your home environment to receive behavioral treatment services. Plus, telehealth technology allows for patients to reach out to their providers in the event they are traveling and need faster mental health assistance while located far from an OptiMindHealth office location.

Telehealth also allows mental health professionals to check in periodically with their patients without the need for scheduling an appointment on site. This can help in crisis situations, for example, if someone experiences a panic attack, a sudden change in symptoms, medication side effect, or other more urgent concern.

How To Begin

At Optimindhealth, we have embraced telehealth services in an effort to provide convenient services to those who may not be in a position to travel to one of our physical locations. Utilizing our services though telehealth is simple:

• Take a moment to sign up for an appointment.
• You will soon receive a call from our support staff.
• Your visit with an OptiMindHealth professional will be scheduled and a telehealth invitation with instructions is provided. 
• Your OptiMindHealth provider will conduct a telehealth session with you at your appointment time.

There is no special training needed to participate in a telehealth appointment – it’s a very user-friendly service – and there is no need to purchase or download any additional applications. Any standard computer, laptop, tablet, or phone will allow you access to our telehealth system for your appointment with an OptiMindHealth provider.

We think it is everyone’s birthright to live happy, fulfilling lives and we work hard to help our patients to achieve the goals they set. We invite you to contact us today to find out how telehealth at OptiMindHealth can help you get on the road to restoring hope and finding balance again in your life.

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