This is another difficult question to answer. It all depends on the client. There isn’t an exact formula to calculate whether or not a person will need medications. It will depend on what your therapist sees when talking with you.
Most of the time, people can talk through their feelings and issues without the need for medications, but there are some instances when medications are necessary.
Take for example someone who is so sad, angry, and emotional that they can’t get through their normal day-to-day activities. They can’t get through a day at work, they can’t get their housework done, or their emotions are so strung out that they are deeply ruining relationships with their spouses and children. When someone can’t function throughout their day, maybe medication would be helpful.
If medication is needed, Reka would refer the client to a psychiatrist. Reka and the psychiatrist would then collaborate with the client and hopefully find a medication to help stabilize their client. When someone is feeling that down and isn’t in a stable place, it’s hard to go to a therapeutic place.
Think of it like this: food, water, shelter, and heat are some of the basics in life. They are things you need. You also need to have a fairly stable mental place for therapy so that you are able to talk about and access different feelings and issues. It might be such a thing that with the help of medication, you can function in everyday life and be able to access those feelings and issues in a way that wasn’t possible without medicine.
Sometimes, medications are needed to get a person out of crisis mode. When you are more settled, you can focus on your personal and mental life.
Some people are scared of going on medications because they think that they will need to be on them for the rest of their lives. That doesn’t have to be the case. Again, it depends on the person and their progress. Once you are understanding yourself better and making progress, it’s possible that your therapist and psychiatrist will try to wean you off of your medication.
It’s important to have a therapist and psychiatrist who are willing to work with you. When dealing with medications, it might take a bit of fine tuning and talking through how you feel when taking the medications. The psychiatrist might want to up your dose or wean you off, depending on your progress.
It’s important to always be talking with your therapist and psychiatrist when on medications. It isn’t something that you want to stop cold turkey without consulting with them first. It is important to monitor your medication intake.
Feel free to get in touch with Reka’s office by phone at 402-881-8125, by email at reka@omaha-counseling.com, or via Twitter or Facebook.
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