Do You Need Behavioral Counseling?

During your lifetime, you will experience many things. Some of these experiences may bring feelings of desperation, depression, or hopelessness, while others bring you much love and a sense of utter euphoria. Maybe it’s the sheer diversity of experiences that make life worth living. 

In any case, life can be downright messy and unpredictable. There are moments in your life when you may need help to process through your emotions and reactions to your experiences so you can cope in healthy and constructive ways.

Each year, about 46.6 million American adults struggle with a behavioral, mental, or emotional disorder. About 19.8 million, or 42.6%, turn to a mental health professional for help. Behavioral therapy is a common go-to tool for many folks as they work through their issues.

You may be wondering if behavioral counseling is right for you. After all, doesn’t everyone go through life’s ups and downs? The licensed psychologist and licensed professional counselor on the team at Cardio Metabolic Institute answer with a definitive yes but pose this question: Wouldn’t it be great to learn better coping skills so you can get through those inevitable moments in a healthy, non-destructive way? 

What is behavioral counseling?

This type of talk therapy examines a destructive reaction to an experience or emotion and seeks to help you better deal with the situation using a healthier approach. Behavioral counseling can be an effective tool for individuals, groups, or couples and families of all ages.

Behavioral counseling focuses on actions. It starts with the premise that destructive or unwanted behaviors are learned and can be replaced by healthier behaviors if you better understand why that destructive behavior began in the first place.

Addiction and substance abuse issues

Tobacco, drug, and alcohol abuse often can be traced back to specific times when these unhealthy behaviors were used to cope with life-changing, stressful situations. At some point, they may have just become part of the way you lived your life.

With behavioral counseling, patients learn how to modify their behaviors and attitudes toward their particular drug of choice. Instead of using it as a crutch or buffer, you can discover better, healthier ways to cope with stressful, challenging situations and stop the cycle of substance abuse.

Eating disorders and poor body image

A poor body image can trigger potentially life-endangering eating disorders like bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. A hyperfocus on body image — your self-perception of weight, height, shape, and overall appearance — can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

An estimated 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States turn to eating disorders at some point during their lifetime in an attempt to correct a perceived body image problem. Behavioral therapy can address the mismatch between the image and the reality as well as replace negative behaviors with healthy ones.

Anxiety and depression brought on by trauma or life changes

Trauma as well as the everyday challenges of life can deliver a devastating one-two punch for many. In fact, anxiety disorders are the leading mental illness in the United States.

Each year, 40 million American adults — nearly 20% of the population — suffer from an anxiety disorder. As if that wasn’t startling enough, almost 50% of patients diagnosed with an anxiety disorder also suffer from depression, or vice versa.

The important thing to note is there’s hope. These conditions are highly treatable by using therapies like behavioral counseling. 

At Cardio Metabolic Institute, your mental health provider can teach you how to objectively view your emotions so you can learn healthy coping strategies. We’re committed to helping you develop and maintain better balance in your life and a healthier overall well-being.

Are you ready to break the cycle of unhealthy behaviors? Take the first step to becoming a healthier you. Book a behavioral counseling evaluation at Cardio Metabolic Institute in Somerset, Monroe Township, or East Brunswick, New Jersey. For an appointment at the office nearest you, click or call today.