Mental Health Disorders
Alter Mental Health believes individuals with serious mental health illnesses can live full and successful lives with appropriate treatment and compassionate care.
We utilize our clinical expertise and experience to provide a personal, holistic, and comprehensive approach to rehabilitation.
Disorders We Treat
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning and can be disabling.
According to the Mayo Clinic, people with schizophrenia require lifelong treatment. Early treatment may help get symptoms under control before serious complications develop and may help improve the long-term outlook.
Schizoaffective disorder is a chronic mental health condition characterized primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, and symptoms of a mood disorder, such as mania and depression.
People with Schizoaffective disorder are often incorrectly diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Schizoaffective disorder is relatively rare and men and women experience schizoaffective disorder at the same rate. Men, however, will often develop the illness at an earlier age.
Schizoaffective disorder can be effectively managed with appropriate medication and therapy.
Major depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. Research suggests that a combination of biological, psychological, and social sources of distress are factors that may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain.
A persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest for more than two weeks characterizes major depression and can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.
The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy, or a combination of the two.
The American Psychiatric Association describes bipolar disorder as a brain disorder that causes changes in a persons mood, energy, and ability to function. People with bipolar disorder experience intense emotional states that typically occur during distinct periods of days to weeks, called mood episodes. These mood episodes are categorized as manic/hypomanic (abnormally happy or irritable mood) or depressive (sad mood). People with bipolar disorder generally have periods of neutral mood as well. When treated, people with bipolar disorder can lead full and productive lives.
People without bipolar disorder experience mood fluctuations as well. However, these mood changes typically last hours rather than days. Also, these changes are not usually accompanied by the extreme degree of behavior change or difficulty with daily routines and social interactions that people with bipolar disorder demonstrate during mood episodes. Bipolar disorder can disrupt a person’s relationships with loved ones and cause difficulty in working or going to school.
Bipolar disorder is a category that includes three different diagnoses: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder.
PTSD is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions.
Symptoms may include unwanted memories of the trauma, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, heightened reactions, anxiety, or a depressed mood.
There are several different types of treatment including trauma-focused psychotherapy as well as medications to manage symptoms.
A personality disorder is a mental health condition that involves long-lasting, all-encompassing, disruptive patterns of thinking, behavior, mood and issues relating to others. These patterns cause a person significant distress and can impair their ability to function.
According to NIMH, people with panic disorder have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are characterized by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger. Not everyone who experiences a panic attack will develop panic disorder.
link for NIMH:
If you tend to worry often, even when there’s no reason, you may have generalized anxiety disorder or (GAD). GAD means you are constantly worrying and can’t control the worrying. Diagnosis of GAD is determined by if you’re worrying happens on most days and for at least six months. Most common worries include your health, money, family, or work. While everyone worries about these things once in awhile, if you always expect the worst, it can get in the way of living a normal life.