Why Patients should seek mental health and rehabilitation care from therapists throughout Life Altering Treatments?

This article explores the importance and need of receiving therapy throughout any extensive medical procedure, and how it can help the patient recover faster, and be optimistic about their new healthy life. The article also talks about why medical tourists should also receive emotional and physical support from therapists in the treatment country, as they are more likely to get afflicted by depression because they are away from their family and home, fighting what could be a potentially life-threatening condition.

Mental & Emotional Therapy VS Rehabilitation Therapy Post-Treatment

Nobody expects to get injured or sick — it is the furthest thought that comes to a person mind. It was only yesterday when you were out jogging or playing catch with your children, and now you are laying on a hospital bed.

This mere thought is enough to plant irrational worries in your head. Now, imagine what a patient goes through, especially when they are battling against a life-threatening condition.

Most people worry about cancer and heart attack, but seldom people imagine themselves sitting on a wheelchair leading a life of dependency. Yet there are more than 50 million patients in the United States alone with disability.

In some conditions, rehabilitation and mental therapy can help in ensuring that this thought never becomes a reality, even after the patient suffers from a severe condition.

Both these therapies go hand in hand, receiving therapy from a psychiatrist will help the patient, become more aware of his/her condition, and gain acceptance, without feeling depressed or helpless, which will motivate them to participate in their rehabilitation program more actively.

Why is post-treatment therapy so important?

As the population becomes more aware and cautious about the importance of mental health, the significance of mental health professionals is also being recognized. In order to benefit from therapy, especially after traumatic experiences, patients need to receive it regularly. And therapy being among the more expensive medical treatments, can sum up to be more pricier than a kidney transplant surgery if its yearly cost is calculated in the developed countries.

The boom of medical tourism in India has opened doors for medical tourists with different conditions to receive quality treatment within their budget in the country.

In most cases, patients also require psychiatric help as well as rehabilitation care after undergoing extensive treatments like cancer, which can take a toll on their emotional and physical health.

Several cancer patients coming to the country also seek rehabilitation help during and after their treatment from therapists in India. This helps them stay emotionally strong throughout their treatment.

Battling depression after surgery

Medical procedures like knee surgery, organ transplantation, or cancer can cause depression, as it takes a toll on the emotional, mental and social life of the patient. Patients tend to feel lonely or left out during their treatment or recovery period which can lead to depression.

The expensive cost of surgery, unstable health issues, financial worries including others can trigger the feeling of despair and hopelessness in patients.

Therapy can be really helpful in such scenarios, which can help the patient and their family understand the cause of such emotions, providing a solution to minimize or avoid the problem.

Fees of Therapists in India

Counseling services in India start at a nominal cost of USD 50–100 per session. This session can go on for 45–60 minutes. The number of follow up sessions required by each patient will depend on their needs and are ideally scheduled at least once a week.

Thanks to technology patients can receive regular consultation from their therapists in India over a phone or a video call, at any given time agreed by the doctor and the patient.

Rehabilitation Care

Rehabilitation Therapy is a type of care program designed for helping people (patient) get back, maintain, or improve the abilities that they need in their daily life. These abilities might be mental, physical, and/or cognitive (learning & thinking). A patient might have lost these abilities due to an injury or a disease, or because of a side effect of a medical treatment. Rehabilitation therapy can help patients improve their daily life and functioning, which obviously helps in speeding up their recovery.

Seeking help from a psychologist or therapist in India, also come under the rehabilitation care program. Both a therapist and a psychologist focus on providing emotional and mental stability to their clients, via medications or verbal sessions.

Difference between a therapist and a psychologist. Who should you choose?

In-Depth Differences

A psychologist is a medical professional who works with a psychiatrist, who is a qualified doctor to prescribe medication if it is necessary for the treatment of the patients. A therapist’s goal is to help the patient clarify their emotions and feelings in order to assist them to solve their problems.

A psychologist can be defined as a social scientist who receives training to study mental processes and human behavior. Psychologists work in a variety of clinical or research settings.

A therapist is a mental healthcare professional who is trained — and licensed — to deliver a variety of rehabilitation and treatments for people. Therapists can be social workers, psychoanalysts, marriage counselors, or life coaches, among several other specialties. Therapists provide guidance and support to their patients, helping them get clarity and make effective decisions by giving them an overall structure of support. Patients should focus on the licensing, educational and professional credentials of the therapist before making a selection.

Therapist vs Psychologist

Psychologists:

· Gains an advanced Psychology degree

· Can do research as well as therapy

· Diagnose disorders or any problem in their clients

· Determine appropriate treatment plans based on patients clinical diagnosis and observations

· Often works with a psychiatrist

· Help patients/clients clarify emotions and make decisions

· Provide personal mental support and guidance

Therapists:

· Can include psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage counselors, social workers and life coaches.

· Can have multiple degrees in a number of disciplines, including masters, PhD, MD or diploma certificates in fields like social work, clinical psychology, substance abuse, psychiatry or other family-related counseling

· Help patients/clients make decisions and clarify feelings

· Provide guidance and support

Who requires rehabilitation therapy?

Rehabilitation therapy designed to deliver mental, emotional, and physical support to patients or people who have lost their ability to live a steady life. This might happen due to the following conditions:

· Injuries and trauma, including fractures, burns, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injury

· Stroke

· Severe infections

· Major surgeries

· Side effects due to medical treatment, like cancer treatment

· Certain congenital disabilities or genetic disorders

· Developmental disabilities

· Chronic joint pain

Which are the common medical conditions that can cause depression?

There is no specific surgery or procedure that can cause the symptoms of depression in a patient.

However, research suggests that some conditions have a higher likelihood of causing postoperative depression than others. These include conditions which can produce the symptom of chronic pain or anything particular which prevents patients from going back to their old routine, which can include:

· heart surgery

· gastric bypass surgery

· brain surgery

· hip replacement

· hysterectomy

· cancer resection

· mastectomy

· plastic surgery

Patients scheduled to undergo any of the above mentioned surgeries are at a higher risk of getting depression afterward. Also, any type of complex, serious surgery can also trigger postoperative depression.

During follow-up visits, a doctor will usually question the patients about basic symptoms of depression which may include:

· Sleeping or eating habits

· emotional stability

· energy levels

· thought patterns

Patients with depression will be recommended to consult a therapist or a psychologist. They will also be recommended to join rehabilitation programs, that can help them socializes and meet people will similar struggles as them.

Rehabilitation Therapy in India

Apart from mental and emotional support patients might also require physical support after their treatment, which motivates them to go back to their routine before the medical trauma.

The nominal fees of a therapist in India make it easy for patients to receive rehabilitation care, which can vary based on each patient’s medical condition.

The overall goal of rehabilitation care is to help patients build abilities to regain their independence.

What happens during a rehabilitation program?

When a patient receives rehabilitation care, he/she often works with a team of different health care providers assisting them. They work with the patient to figure out their needs, goals, to create a treatment plan for them. Rehabilitation programs can include the following types of treatment:

· Assistive devices, including tools, products, and equipment which help patients with disabilities function and move

· Cognitive rehabilitation therapy for helping patients improve their skills or relearn basic things like thinking, learning, planning, memory, and decision making

· Mental health counseling

· Art or music therapy that can help patients express their feelings, improve their thinking, and develop new social connections

· Nutritional counseling

· Occupational therapy that help patients perform their daily activities

· Physical therapy like exercise, yoga can also be used for helping a patient’s fitness, strength, and mobility

· Recreational therapy for improving patients emotional well-being through games, arts and crafts, animal-assisted therapy and relaxation training.

· Speech-language therapy for helping patients with speaking, reading, understanding, writing and swallowing

· Treatment for pain management

· Vocational rehabilitation for helping patients build skills for working at their job or going to school.

Depending on the patient’s needs, they might receive rehabilitation care in the providers’ center, a hospital, or at an inpatient center. In some cases, patients can also receive private sessions at their home.

Medical Tourists can, of course, continue these therapies when they return to their country, but starting them soon after their treatment can help the patient recover and go back to his/ her old routine faster.

Where can patients receive rehabilitation care in India?

Most multi-speciality hospitals in India deliver rehabilitation care to the patients during their stay after their treatment in India.

All the leading hospitals in India like Fortis, Apollo, Narayana Group provide rehabilitation and physiotherapy to its patients after their surgery.

Best Rehabilitation Care Hospitals in India

Patients can receive rehabilitation care post-treatment at these hospitals:

Columbia Asia Hospitals, Bangalore

· Physical Therapy

· Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

· Neurological Rehabilitation

· Pediatric Physical Therapy

Gleneagles Global Hospitals, Chennai

· Physical Therapy

· Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

· Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

· Cardiac Rehabilitation

· Neurological Rehabilitation

· Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation

Fortis Hospital, Noida

· Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

· Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Conclusion

Patients should be expressive about their emotions and worries with their family while undergoing any medical procedure so that they can receive help on time. In most cases, patients are emotionally tired, and lose hope, not putting 100% effort into rehabilitation therapy which prevents from recovering.

The medical facilities delivered in India are very affordable, leaving enough sum for patients to receive post-treatment therapy. The objective of this therapy is to slowly push the patient back into their normal routine, without them carrying the invisible wounds of the treatment.

However, an excess of anything is bad. When a patient consumes a medication regularly for a medical condition, he/she carefully adjust the dose. Intake of too much or too little quantity of the antibiotic can cause the infection to become worse or never go away. The same goes for post-treatment therapy — rehabilitation care.

Patients should ensure that they don’t overdo the therapy, there should be a balance between the amount and intensity of therapy delivered to the patient.

Just like it takes time of practice or learn and improve any musical instrument, it takes time for therapy to retrain the nervous system, brain, and muscles. Typically, an inpatient rehabilitation at the hospital can go on for 3 hours a day depending on the patient’s condition, of course. If patient is receiving rehabilitation care from an outpatient setting, he/she should consult his/her doctor before going forward with the program according to the treatment plan made by them.