When patients seek addiction recovery services, they often believe that “behavioral health” is interchangeable with “mental health” or “therapy.” However, these terms refer to distinct concepts. Read on to learn more about the differences and how addiction and rehabilitation specialists can help you or a loved one through dual-diagnosis treatments.
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What Is Mental Health?
Mental health describes the condition of a person’s mind, encompassing their emotional and psychological well-being. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five adults in the United States experiences some form of mental health disorder that adversely affects their life and relationships with others. Common mental health disorders include mild to severe antisocial personality disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Connection Between Mental Health and Addiction
Mental health disorders and addiction often go hand in hand. When these problems become overwhelming, individuals may turn to substances—whether over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drugs—to boost their mood, enhance focus, relax, or think more clearly. These coping mechanisms can lead to long-term addiction.
Access to proper mental health care is essential for individuals struggling with co-occurring conditions. Without the guidance of mental health professionals, self-medication can worsen symptoms and increase the risk of addiction. Mental health services provided by recovery centers often address both addiction and underlying psychological challenges, helping individuals take back their lives and reduce the likelihood of relapse.
By combining therapy, support, and treatment for both addiction and mental health disorders, individuals can build a foundation for recovery and emotional well-being. Comprehensive mental health care is critical to overcoming the complex relationship between mental health and addiction.
What is Behavioral Health?
The way people think about behavioral health depends on the context. Some describe it as the study and treatment of the impact that behaviors—such as coping strategies, cultural practices, daily habits (like eating and hygiene), lifestyle choices, physical activities, reactions to stressors, social interactions, and substance use—have on a person’s well-being. Behavioral health is also often used in medicine as a category descriptor for services, including mental health treatments and therapies. Additionally, it can describe a treatment focus that is part of therapy services.
No matter how it is defined, when a professional (e.g., physician, counselor, social worker, psychiatrist, or neurologist) discusses a behavioral health plan or services, they are usually taking a holistic approach to treatment. For example, with substance abuse, licensed professionals look for underlying problems that caused or exacerbated the situation and then offer services such as individual and relationship counseling, management of chronic illnesses, and mental, neurological, or psychiatric healthcare. Experts estimate that 70% or more of patients have some form of behavioral health issue requiring treatment.
What is Therapy?
The term “therapy” means treatment, but it also requires context. Often, people think therapy refers only to treatments for emotional or mental health problems. However, it can also refer to complementary treatment for behavioral or physical issues. In some contexts, therapy addresses mental health problems within behavioral health or as part of an overall substance abuse and mental health treatment plan.
Professionals usually recommend a wide range of therapy options. They might discuss individual or group counseling or other talk therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), to help patients find motivation and support or cope better with intense emotions and negative thoughts. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) can help patients address mental health issues rooted in trauma. For better stress management, they may recommend mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
Therapies target specific mental or physical health problems. For example, a counselor might help a person struggling with addiction recognize how emotions, perceptions, and thoughts influence their actions. They then focus on areas where the patient faces the most difficulty. For instance, an addiction specialist might offer therapeutic treatments for past trauma or address physical conditions that exacerbate mental health problems and negatively affect behavior.
How Behavioral Health and Therapy Work Together
Although behavioral health and therapy are not interchangeable terms, they interconnect and overlap extensively when addressing substance abuse. Behavioral health broadly addresses how behaviors impact health, while therapy focuses on improving mental health and assessing the effects of bad habits and physical problems. Addicts benefit the most from recovery services when professionals connect these areas and offer comprehensive, personalized treatment plans.
Typically, patients hear that addiction treatment therapies are a component of behavioral health services. Beyond therapies that target emotions, impulse control, mental illness, or self-esteem, treatments may also involve coping strategies, lifestyle changes, medication management, weight management, interpersonal skills development, and aftercare programs.
Evidence-based holistic treatment plans customized for individual patients provide many long-term benefits. Improving mental health can positively influence behaviors, and the converse is also true. For example, stress-induced insomnia can lead to other mental and physical ailments. Conversely, a lack of healthy sleep patterns can result in mood swings and mental health challenges.
Illinois Recovery Center’s Approach to Behavioral Health
Illinois Recovery Center applies a holistic approach. The caring staff integrates inpatient and outpatient therapies, medical support, and lifestyle counseling to improve emotional and mental health and support overall behavioral health. In addition to the previously mentioned therapies, their team also offers K-9 enrichment and peer recovery specialists who provide positive external support known to boost mood and motivation.
More than 50 million adult Americans experience mental illness. Some become addicts as a result of mental health challenges, while others experience mental decline from substance abuse that causes brain damage. A single exposure to certain chemicals can shrink the brain, inflame neural pathways, and lead to mood swings, memory problems, anxiety, depression, and poor decision-making.
It’s Time to Free Yourself from Addiction
At Illinois Recovery Center, we do more than provide detox and relapse prevention. Our team helps you uncover the root causes of unhealthy behaviors, addressing behavioral health and substance use disorders to improve your mental well-being and quality of life.
We create custom plans tailored to your needs, incorporating psychotherapy, therapy sessions, and evidence-based interventions to address challenges like anxiety, schizophrenia, and unhealthy habits. By developing better coping mechanisms, you can reclaim your life and enhance your well-being.
We work with providers and your insurance company to ensure accessible care. For more information or a confidential consultation, call us today to start your journey to a healthier, happier future.
