Psychologists have certain tools that allow them to deal with the various problems, discomforts or mental illnesses that can affect their patients, one of these tools that we will talk about today is therapeutic follow-up.
Therapeutic monitoring is carried out “in the usual environment of the subject”. This means that the psychologist will be present on the street, at home or in any other environment that can trigger a crisis situation in the patient.
- This only happens when everything that can be done during the consultation.
- Such as the various exercises.
- Is insufficient and ineffective.
- It is the psychologist who realizes that if it is not integrated into the daily life of the patient.
- It will not improve.
Therapeutic support is a facilitator that allows people with different limitations to overcome barriers that prevent them, for example, from leaving their homes or visiting certain places.
With this tool you can improve your autonomy, develop your social skills and interact with your environment healthier, this can be very effective in people with social anxiety, for example.
However, for therapeutic follow-up to be successful, account must be taken of certain attitudes and qualities that the psychologist must possess, which will be explained below on the basis of Carl Rogers’ list of help:
The Study Therapeutic Support: Practice and Clinical in a Psychiatric Hospital exposes the case of a 66-year-old woman who entered a mental health facility for 7 years because of the postpartum manic depression that diagnosed her.
As drug treatment had no effect, the possibility of therapeutic surveillance was raised, at first the patient was excited, until her fears began to arise, which was done, then, was to walk with her in the garden and through the hospital.
In this case it was also important the intervention of the family, the patient began to be able to walk around the city away from the safe environment that was her center, at first I showed a rejection to the therapist and I just said, Go home. “But as the months went by, that changed.
She began making brief visits to her home until she acquired certain responsibilities, such as caring for her daughters and taking medication. The process was gradual, but it worked.
This patient’s admission was made because the restriction was impossible at home, she was aggressive with her family and had manic episodes of difficult control, however, therapeutic follow-up stabilized her symptoms, allowing her to return to her family.
Therapeutic accompaniment helps others walk, allowing them to start building all broken bonds.
As we have seen, therapeutic follow-up is a tool for complex situations where the treatment of the consultation is not enough, we have seen a real case, but there are many others in which this tool needs to be implemented.
People with agoraphobia, have difficulty walking on a busy street or have difficulty entering a supermarket can benefit from therapeutic follow-up, the psychologist will be by your side to accompany you, listen to the patient’s feelings, observe how it works and help Avoid escape or escape behaviors.
As we have seen, this warm technique encourages many people to break isolation and break down the barriers that limit them in their day to day, allowing them to make profound changes in their lives, as well as improve their quality.