Zoning Out Anxiety
September 17, 2023
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When your brain can't handle too much stress, it gets numb, a condition termed anxiety…
Milieu Therapy
Have you ever heard of group counseling? Milieu therapy is an excellent approach in this regard and is becoming popular due to its outpatient environment. Many people outside the mental health field don’t know about the effectiveness of the therapy. In this article, you’ll learn everything about milieu therapy: examples, principles, benefits, and much more. So, it’s time to dive in!
What is Milieu Therapy?
The word Milieu is of French origin, defining a person’s surroundings and social context. It’s an old therapy that’s been practiced in psychiatric institutions, mental wards, and regular hospitals. Let’s take a deeper dive into it!
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Milieu therapy is a form of psychotherapy that aims to manage your surroundings to make you feel safe and comfortable. With it, you acquire new mental health skills and develop positive attitudes. Moreover, it can be used alone or with other therapeutic strategies.
The therapy is highly effective for treating patients having Schizophrenia or substance misuse. It works actively in different settings, such as in community mental health services, alcohol rehabilitation centers, psychiatric nursing, and inpatient psychiatry.
Most of the time, patients feel a bit uncomfortable expressing themselves, but in the case of milieu therapy, they get a secure environment. The sessions occur in groups, where individuals interact with one another and their therapists. It helps promote healthier emotions, behaviors, and a sense of safety.
Touching the Principles of Therapeutic Milieu
As said, Milieu therapy aims to promote a sense of safety in an environment for individuals. It’s different from many other therapies as the therapists don’t have the entire control. The patient also has authority, which makes him feel more comfortable and enhances his mental health. But remember that being in shared power doesn’t mean being disrespectful. Both the parties have to respect each other.
Other than that, sometimes milieu therapy also works with a different approach, patient education. This merging works best for patients with some kind of mental issue as it equips them to handle their condition better. Another crucial thing in milieu therapy is family support because they are the ones who will be giving outside therapy support.
Elements of Milieu Therapy
Milieu therapy involves several elements. Each of them are highlighted below.
Open Therapeutic Dialogue
As the name indicates, in open therapeutic dialogue, the staff members encourage patients to talk to them without hesitation. Its prime purpose is to give patients the required support to speak openly.
Each patient will respond differently in terms of time. Some will speak up more quickly, while others may take longer. Therefore, the staff has to tailor different approaches to make the dialogue effective.
Staff-Patient Interaction
A treatment shows positive outcomes only when the patient and staff get along well. In the therapeutic milieu, the prime focus is regular contact between the patient and the team for an open and honest dialogue. Such interactions are structured and predictable and instill confidence in patients.
Power Sharing
Here’s when authority sharing comes in. As a part of the treatment, milieu therapy gives patients the authority to take leadership roles and participate in decision-making with the staff members. It gives them confidence and a belief that their voice also matters.
How does the Milieu Therapy Work?
It focuses on the therapeutic setting for therapeutic processes and their effectiveness. For advanced treatment, collaboration among field experts is also a common practice. Milieu also incorporates different treatments such as individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, etc., and clients, their partners, supporters, and families can join the sessions.
Additionally, during the therapy, the therapist uses various environmental factors and therapeutic philosophies and also ensures that the space is secure, organized, and pleasant. He has the entire control of the environment and can bring the desired transformation in patients.
Milieu Therapy Examples
This therapy emphasizes the environment and the community. Considering this, the therapy starts either in an outpatient or an inpatient environment, depending on what suits them better. Besides, therapists put several treatments into use in milieu therapy, depending on the individual.
For instance, if individuals have mental health issues like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc., along with the therapy, they also get psychiatric assistance. Likewise, people with anger issues get anger management counseling alongside the therapy. Such strategies help patients better communicate with people and survive in society.
Now, let’s see a few milieu therapy examples of these strategies put into action!
- Making the physical environment comfortable and peaceful.
- Organizing recreational activities to encourage participation and the use of interpersonal skills.
- Planning community meet-ups, skill training groups, and work tasks to encourage individuals to take leadership roles.
These are just a few therapeutic milieu examples. Activities like these provide more opportunities for social contact and help handle social issues.
Benefits of Milieu Therapy
Now that you’ve ample understanding of this therapy, let’s not forget to highlight its benefits.
- The therapy can be employed in various clinical settings and give effective results.
- It’s beneficial for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug and alcohol addiction, Schizophrenia, etc.
- According to research, milieu treatment reduces aggressiveness and self-harm.
- The “milieu experience” helps individuals in developing coping skills.
Online Therapy from BetterHelp
In contemporary times, online therapies have replaced traditional in-person meet-ups with therapists. Many online platforms are available for virtual sessions. One such platform is BetterHelp, a USA-based mental health-related treatment provider. The experts here are highly qualified. You can easily register on the platform and find a therapist specializing in milieu therapy at reasonable rates.
In-person Milieu Therapy vs. Online Milieu Therapy: Price Comparison
Currently, both the physical and online mode of milieu therapy exists. Let’s compare the two prices to determine the less costly option!
Well! The cost of in-person therapy sessions is anywhere between $75 to $200 per session. On the other hand, BetterHelp provides a session for $60 to $90 per week. This weekly session involves a live therapy session and unlimited text messages. And the monthly package involves four live sessions, which will cost about $240 to $360. The platform also has financial aid options and discounts for those in need. Hence, BetterHelp wins.
The Bottom Line
Milieu therapy is a psychotherapy mostly offered in groups and has shown tremendous positive results in people with mental and behavioral disorders. The therapy focuses on utilizing the environment to make individuals feel more confident and secure with emphasis on shared accountability and reciprocal respect.
The sessions involve recreational activities in a group, meet-ups, and group training skills, which are all milieu therapy examples. And have helped in successfully treating numerous psychiatric and behavioral problems. If you have any such problem, go for a milieu therapy and see the transformation in you.
