Psychological education is a must!

I constantly see people who are diagnosed with mood or anxiety disorders; they feel bad, but they don't really understand what's happening to them.  Yes, when you spend fifteen minutes in the doctor's office, you cannot come out with a detailed understanding of such complex problems. That said, I don't blame the doctors, they are overwhelmed!

Here is a formal definition of psychological education:

“Psychological education is the teaching of knowledge and skills aimed at maintaining and improving independence or health. It helps in particular to prevent the onset of mental disorders or deterioration of mental state.

The teaching may focus, for example, on the nature of the mental disorder, its manifestations, its treatments, the role that the person can play in maintaining or restoring their health and also on techniques for managing stress, relaxation or relaxation. 'self-affirmation'. 1

Psychological education in practice 

Me and my colleagues from PAE360 have noticed that psychological education literally constitutes a treatment and it is essential in all our mobilization plans. First, realizing that their mental health problem is something normal that can happen to anyone reassures the participants. They feel less alone on their island, which makes them feel good when they leave. Then, learning about their symptoms, the factors that can contribute to their appearance, and strategies that can reduce or even control them, creates hope and also commitment on the part of the participants. They also understand that the more active they play a role in their recovery, the sooner they will get better. They thus manage to find the necessary motivation to reclaim parts of their lives that have been left behind for several months.    

We see that psychological education allows the individual to become better aware of the need to maintain the balance of their mental health. It also allows us to see the extent of factors that interact with mental health. (Life habits, physical health, social relationships, spiritual life). It raises awareness. It is often thanks to psychological education that the person will take action and understand the need for strategies such as behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring, etc. When these strategies acquired through psychological education are put into motion, we see the participants once again becoming capable of confronting their problems and finding solutions.

Their sense of self-efficacy develops and that is reassuring for people. It also allows us to see the signs of possible deterioration. In general, people will realize that it would be helpful for them to have a plan with strategies to implement as soon as they suspect a recurrence of symptoms. By now, we've come a long way! For example, when the person feels their anxiety rising and they have identified in their plan that the exercise of yoga or meditation allows them to better manage their symptoms, they can put these means in place to soothe themselves.

 It is also not uncommon to see that people will adopt new routines in their lives to improve their long-term well-being. The yoga or meditation discussed in our example will likely become an integral part of a new lifestyle to maintain balance. Ah, this dear balance, how sweet it is to find it again!

For me and my team, psychological education is a must!

Amélie your mental health coach