Mental Health Services

Most everyone experiences anxiety as a response to stress from time to time.

Mild anxiety can help us cope with accomplishing everyday activities by changing that anxiety into positive behaviors. However, when anxiety is constant it’s no longer a coping mechanism. It becomes a disabling condition.

Anxiety disorders can interfere significantly with the performance of everyday activities. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders identifies the following five types of anxiety disorders:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder—Recurring persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses which become intrusive and unwanted and can cause anxiety or stress.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—Exposure to an event which causes disturbances in or significant distress or impairment in life, work or other daily functions.
• Social or Specific Phobias—Persistent fear which is excessive or unreasonable about a situation or object.
• Panic Disorder—A disorder based primarily on the occurrence of panic attacks which may be recurrent and unexpected.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder—Excessive anxiety and worry about any number of topics, events, or activities past, present, or future.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

Occupational therapists play an important role in addressing anxiety disorders. Interventions may focus on a number of areas to improve physical and mental health, including:

• Establishment of routines and habits.
• Activities that provide relaxation.
• Strategies for managing symptoms to enhance occupational performance.

At The Therapy Place, we are committed to improving the lives of those with anxiety disorders. We care about you and your physical and mental health.

Brain injuries can affect motor, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral functioning.

Concussions are the most common type of traumatic brain injuries which typically are caused by falls, accidents or sports injuries.

A person who has sustained a brain injury may find it challenging to return to work or school, or engage in many of the other activities enjoyed prior to the injury. Patients with brain injuries also may have:

• Decreased balance and coordination.
• Memory impairments.
• Difficulty organizing and sequencing activities.
• Difficulty making decisions.

A brain injury also may affect visual and auditory functions. In addition, many patients experience a decrease in the ability to tolerate frustration and an increase in impulsive behaviors.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

Occupational therapy may help  improve quality of life and help patients regain a maximum level of independence. Occupational therapists play a key role in helping individuals with brain injuries regain their personal lives and reintegrate back into the community.

Therapists at The Therapy Place are experts in evaluating and analyzing a patient’s abilities. Our whole-person perspective considers all parts of an individual’s life including:

• Activities of daily living such as self-care.
• Instrumental activities of daily living like home management, work, leisure and social activities.

Our expertise allows us to help patients relearn skills and compensate for impairments.

People with depression typically do not have the energy or drive to participate in the things that are important to them.

They may find it hard to get out of bed, care for themselves, work, engage in activities they enjoy, or maintain relationships with friends or family.

The causes of depression vary:

• For some, depression is rooted in a physiological cause like decreased neurotransmitters in the brain.
• For others, the cause may be life events and the inability to achieve satisfaction from relationships, or experiences they are unable to manage.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

In general, occupational therapists help people suffering with depression to balance work, leisure, and relationship activities. They help the patient establish strategies to meet the responsibilities of the roles that are meaningful to them.

Occupational therapists at The Therapy Place will identify the life roles that are meaningful to each patient and help them adapt and have the opportunity to participate and gain a sense of accomplishment. Self-esteem and identity also play large roles in managing depression, so the occupational therapist also will work with the patient to successfully complete these activities.

Our therapists will determine what is interfering with a patient’s ability to meet those daily responsibilities and activities and our expertise allows us to help patients relearn skills and compensate for impairments.

Developmental disabilities are characterized by significant limitations in reasoning, learning and problem solving.

They may be diagnosed as:

• Autism spectrum disorder.
• Learning disorders.
• Intellectual disabilities.

Limitations in these areas significantly impact a patient’s ability to complete critical self-care tasks or to interact socially.

Opportunities to participate in typical adult activities such as employment and independent living continue to be limited for those with developmental disabilities. There is an ignorance of the potential of adults with developmental disabilities that often acts as a barrier to employment or independent living.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

With its unique focus on helping people with the activities of daily living and employment, occupational therapy offers those with developmental disabilities the means to achieve a better life. Treatments and interventions are structured to:

• Minimize distractions.
• Ensure adequate sensory stimulation.
• Provide the patient with appropriate challenges to increase focus and engagement.

Our expertise allows us to help patients learn adaptive behaviors to achieve everyday social and practical skills.

At The Therapy Place, we care about your physical and mental health. It’s our mission to allow patients live life to the fullest by helping them better adapt to illness, injury, or disability.