A person’s mental health is as important as their physical health. This aspect of their health is taken care of by a psychologist. A psychologist can assess, diagnose and treat mental ailments such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, phobias etc. These doctors can help treat acute issues as well as chronic ailments. They may be consulted in hospitals, mental health clinics or at their private clinics. Unlike psychiatrists, psychologists do not usually prescribe medication.
Consulting a psychologist does not make you a person with mental issues. Hence, it is important to not brush psychological issues under the carpet and the address them in time. Some of the reasons you may want to consult a psychologist are depressive or suicidal thoughts, worrying unnecessarily, experiencing panic attacks or if you have irrational fears. Even if you just need to talk to someone about the issues you have in your family you should consider consulting with a psychologist.
Specialities
Psychologists may choose to specialize in the treatment of specific disorders, child and adolescent psychology, neuropsychological disorders, family and relationship counselling, sports counselling, organizational psychology, health psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology and industrial psychology.
The consultancy fees for a psychologist in Delhi start from Rs 500 per session and can go up to Rs 2,000 per session. A session typically lasts for one hour.
Top Treatments
Cognitive behavioural therapy
This type of therapy may be used to treat anxiety and depression. It focuses on helping the patient improve control over emotions, changing unhealthy behaviours and developing coping strategies for current problems.
Group therapy
This involves patients suffering from similar issues sitting together as a group under the guidance of a psychologist and talking about their issues. It helps patients understand their problems and get a new perspective on them.
Acceptance and commitment therapy
During this type of therapy, patients are encouraged to accept their negative emotions and thoughts but not let them define who they are. It may be used to treat anxiety, personality disorders, stress and schizophrenia.
Mindfulness
This therapy aims at helping the patient focus on the present. It may be used to treat anxiety and depression.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
This is intended to help patients identify their inner struggles, behavioural patterns and defence mechanisms so that they can accept and change them. Psychoanalysis may be a part of such therapy.