While mental health treatment helps individuals understand their mental health issues better and develop healthy ways of coping with symptoms of these issues, it also provides individuals with essential life skills. This way, they can go back to their daily lives and implement their new mental health strategies and techniques in ways that complement their lifestyle. And, continue managing the symptoms of their mental health issues even after treatment ends.

Some Methods Mental Health Treatment Programs Use to Teach Essential Life Skills

There are a number of methods mental health treatment programs may utilize to help educate individuals in their care to learn life skills important for use outside of treatment. During the time spent in treatment, it’s important to stay open to learning these life skills in order to retain this knowledge and be able to practice these techniques when you need them most.

Some life skills individuals learn in treatment for mental health issues can include:

Social Skills: It can be challenging for people living with various mental health issues to create and maintain healthy relationships. Additionally, socially interacting with others can also be difficult. One of the things that individuals can learn and practice during mental health treatment is social skills. These skills can assist individuals in setting healthy boundaries, communicating in healthy ways, dealing with conflicts, and more in order to create and maintain healthy relationships. And, interact with others in ways that are constructive.

Managing Emotions: People diagnosed with mental health issues commonly experience trouble with mood management. So, during treatment, individuals are given tools and education about how to deal with negative emotions including stress, irritability, anger, and sadness. For example, instead of running from negative emotions or attempting to self-medicate these feelings, an important life skill is knowing how to accept and deal with negative emotions when they arise. Treatment methods provide individuals with ways of coping with negative emotions in order to manage them so they don’t debilitate their lives.

Self-Sustaining Skills: Taking what is learned and going back into daily life while using these techniques can be challenging. That’s why it’s important to learn about self-sustaining and independent living during treatment. This way, when treatment is concluded, individuals who have gained professional help can take what they’ve learned out into the real world and their daily lives. Some of these skills can include how to:

• get a healthy amount of sleep
• eat nutritious and healthy meals
• practice self-care
• utilize mindfulness strategies
• manage and monitor finances

Why is it Important to Learn Essential Life Skills During Treatment?

Without taking what you’ve learned in mental health treatment out into your own, daily life, what is the point of getting help? Essential life skills learned in treatment can help people transform their lives and maintain the positive growth they’ve gained with managing symptoms of mental health issues. Going to therapy and taking medication may not be enough to manage mental health issues and refrain from reverting back to negative thought patterns and behaviors. But, with tools like essential life skills, people who have gained professional help through mental health treatment have a better chance of maintaining mental wellbeing and staying on track to meet their mental health goals.

Getting Help Through Treatment That Teaches Essential Life Skills

Yellowbrick is an outpatient mental health treatment facility located near Chicago, IL that offers a life skills program for people dealing with mental health issues. Along with teaching individuals helpful life skills in order to maintain mental wellbeing, we also provide transitional housing at The Residence, supplemental therapies, evidence-based therapies, and more in order to provide comprehensive and individualized care to people who need help. Learn more about our available services and our approach to treatment from our website.