- January 28, 2023
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry
The Role of a Behavioral Health Specialist in Mental Health Care
Do you know that there are more than 106,000 licensed psychologists in the US and nearly a dozen different fields of study within that? Each field focuses on specific aspects of psychology. They examine how we interact with others, ourselves, and the world around us.
If you are considering working with a psychologist, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by so many options. How do you know if you need a behavioral health specialist or something else?
We’re here to help clear it up for you. In this article, we’ll help you understand the different types of psychology and define exactly what a behavioral health specialist does. Then, we’ll show you how to decide if this is the best fit for you and what to expect during your first visit.
Keep reading to learn more so that you can be sure you’re making the most informed decision.
What Are the Fields of Study in Psychology?
Psychology covers a wide range of issues that people face throughout life. From early development to long patterns, these experiences affect how we engage with the world. Some areas focus on the individual while other areas focus on interpersonal relationships.
The list below offers a brief overview of each one.
- Cognitive · Focuses on how our brains process information to help people with reasoning, memory, and attention span
- Developmental · Focuses on how the brain develops from childhood and how our psychology is affected
- Neuropsychology · Focuses on helping people living with disorders of the nervous system
- Industrial/Organizational · Focuses on helping people understand how work environments can affect employees
- Forensic · Focuses on helping law enforcement agencies understand how the criminal mind operates
- Abnormal · Focuses on helping people living with psychopathic and abnormal behaviors
- Clinical · Focuses on helping people living with more severe mental health needs or behavioral disorders
- Social · Focuses on helping people identify and change how they think about or interact with others
- Behavioral · Focuses on helping people identify and change behaviors often rooted in trauma and patterns
This isn’t an exhaustive list and the field evolves and changes as new science is developed. There’s also a lot of cross-over between these depending on the situation. For example, neuropsychologists may frequently work together with clinical or behavioral therapists.
The Role of a Behavioral Health Specialist
Behavioral health specialists have a degree in their area of study. They help people dealing with the challenges of addiction, mental illness, and disabilities. They also work with people who grew up in abusive or unhealthy environments or struggle with the aftermath of traumatic events.
Expect your therapist to be compassionate, pragmatic, thoughtful, organized, and flexible. Their job is to formulate a behavioral health treatment plan that will help you learn to overcome your thoughts and behavior patterns associated with these problematic areas.
Through therapy sessions, they’ll teach you to define and recognize the patterns occurring in your daily life. Then, you’ll learn to control your reactive thoughts and behaviors to change the outcomes.
Although they have obtained their degree already, behavioral health specialists will continue to study each year. It’s important to keep up with new treatments and advancements in their profession.
Is Behavioral Health Treatment Right For You?
Everyone goes through bouts of sadness, anxiety, and frustration at different times in their lives. However, if you’ve been experiencing feelings like this for an extended amount of time or if these feelings are impacting your daily life, it’s time to seek help.
Other reasons people decide to enlist a behavioral health specialist include:
- Significant life changes that are difficult to cope with, like ending a marriage
- Long-term illness or loss of a loved one
- Experiencing or witnessing traumatic events
- Feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or depression
- Eating disorders or issues with body image
- Struggling with addictions like drugs, gambling, and alcohol
- Physical or emotional self-harm
- Patterns of harmful behaviors in relationships
- Experienced abuse or neglect as a child
- Experienced an injury that impacted daily functions
It’s a good idea to seek help for any other things that impact or affect your ability to have effective, healthy connections in family, work, platonic, or intimate relationships.
What To Expect on Your First Visit
It’s normal to feel nervous about your first visit to a behavioral health center or office. If you’ve worked with other mental health professionals before, you may wonder whether you’ll have the same kind of experience, for better or worse. If you’ve never enlisted a therapist or specialist before, this can feel especially daunting.
Remember that this first meeting is an opportunity to get to know each other. You’ll be able to talk about your background and why you’ve decided to seek therapy. The specialist will ask questions to get a deeper understanding of where you’re at and begin to develop a plan for your behavioral health treatment.
Here are some of the questions and topics you might discuss:
- What prompted you to make this appointment?
- What kinds of problems or symptoms are you experiencing?
- What big life changes have you had recently?
- What does your personal support system look like?
- What types of self-care and stress management do you use?
- What do you hope to accomplish with therapy sessions?
- What milestones and timelines are you hoping for?
Don’t forget that you’re allowed to ask questions, too. Consider asking about their methods and approach to patient care as well as the frequency of sessions. Ask about confidentiality, duration, rules, and whatever else is on your mind. Be sure that you understand what to do in the event of a mental health emergency or crisis.
If you’re the parent of a child seeking behavioral health support, there are four visits in the evaluation process. This helps to ensure that the care provider can make an effective plan.
Make the Call
Everyone can benefit from therapy at certain points in their life. Whether you’re experiencing a crisis or grew up without good examples, it’s wise to get care from a behavioral health specialist. It may be the key to developing healthy skills and building stronger relationships.
Schedule an appointment and we’ll be happy to meet with you soon.