A psychiatric disorder is defined as a prolonged or recurring significant deviation of feeling, thinking, or behavior. In the past decades, mental health disorders have increased dramatically, ranking among the most common diseases.
Nearly half of all people experience at least one relevant psychiatric disorder in their lifetime. Also sick days and early retirements due to psychiatric illnesses have steadily risen, with depression and anxiety making up most diagnoses.
A variety of factors can cause mental health disorders. Genetic factors, physical illnesses, current life events, past stressful events, psychological conflicts, and interpersonal tensions all can trigger the onset of psychiatric disorders.
At CHMC Dubai, we offer treatment for a broad spectrum of mental health disorders.
Therapy for Depression
Clinical depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), is a widespread psychiatric condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, fatigue, loss of interest in activities, and sleep deprivation. Untreated depression has a devastating impact on an individual’s well-being, including decreased quality of life and increased suicide risk.
At CHMC Dubai, we offer the best psychiatric treatment for depression, consisting of psychotherapy and medication. Our therapy plan is individually tailored. In less severe cases, the method of choice is the use of psychotherapy. However, in moderate and severe depression affecting a person’s performance and putting at risk his family life and job, medication is necessary. It quickly restores a person’s normal functioning, paving the way for psychotherapeutic treatment that addresses the underlying causes of depression.
The psychotherapy methods applied at our psychiatric clinic in Dubai for treatment of depression are evidence-based therapies, including CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), psychodynamic psychotherapy, trauma therapy, EMDR, and family therapy. Involving family members in the treatment created a solid support system.
Anxiety Disorders
There are a variety of anxiety forms, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, social anxiety, and particular phobias.
We provide focused therapies meant to reduce the level of anxiety and improve our patient’s day-to-day performance. The treatment of anxiety disorders is not that different from treating depression. In some people, the “inner discomfort” appears in the form of depression; in others, it appears as anxiety.
Also, here the mild forms of anxiety can be treated psychotherapeutically. In more severe cases, the medication offers quick symptom suppression. However, mediation alone will not be enough to achieve a full healing; therefore, we always combine it with psychotherapy.
For treatment of anxiety, we are using CBT and exposure treatment, as well as psychodynamic psychotherapy. We help our patients to pinpoint the causes of their worries and create a treatment plan for sensible management.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
A person’s mental health can suffer long after a traumatic event. Our specific PTSD treatment heals trauma by processing trauma memories and lowering symptoms, including hypervigilance and flashbacks. We apply Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and prolonged exposure treatment, among other evidence-based therapies. Our therapists are qualified to create a secure and encouraging space in which you may work through your experiences at your own speed.
Psychiatric Disorders Requiring Long-Term Treatment
Apart from “conventional” psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and treatment for burnout or trauma, we provide specialized therapy for more complex psychiatric illnesses. Such disorders as Bipolar Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or psychosis require a high level of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic expertise as well as much longer treatment intervals.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a severe psychiatric illness that often needs lifelong treatment. Managing the highs and lows in bipolar patients requires consistent management by an experienced psychiatrist. In the treatment of bipolar disorder, medication plays the most important role. Untreated bipolar disorder can run out of control, ending in so-called “rapid cycling.” The frequent manic episodes, followed by depressive phases interrupted by short periods of stability and frequent hospitalizations, lead to job loss, disruption of family ties, and often to full invalidism.
Treatment for bipolar disorder emphasizes long-term management with medication supported by psychotherapy under family involvement in the treatment plan. The treatment with medication doesn’t mean that the patient will suffer from side effects. Using mood stabilizers in long-term treatment usually does not create any adverse effects. The combination of tailored pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and lifestyle changes protects patients from relapses, helps to sustain a stable mood, and restores their normal social and professional performance.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
ADHD affects not only children but also adults. We provide comprehensive diagnostics and psychometric testing to secure the ADHD diagnosis.
We shouldn’t understand ADHD as an illness. Individuals with ADHD have a particular “brain wiring.” They have an “interest-based nervous system.” They are not motivated by reward or punishment but only by passion for a task. Therefore, there is no cure for ADHD.
Under everyday life circumstances, we are not able to do only interesting things. While a normal individual can compromise and fulfill repetitive or boring tasks, people with ADHD “zone out.” If they are interested in the task, they will excel. However, to fulfill normal duties at school and later in professional life, they need lifelong treatment.
The most effective treatment method is the use of medication. In parallel, we employ behavioural therapies, psychoeducation, and family therapy. We involve families in the treatment in order to create understanding and support for the affected individuals.
OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
OCD is marked by repeated behaviours (compulsions) and intrusive thoughts (obsessions). To help our patients control intrusive thoughts and obsessive behaviours, we provide individually tailored therapies. The state-of-the-art treatment for OCD is a combination of medication (usually using antidepressants) with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) with exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Psychoses
Psychoses are severe mental condition. The most serious form of psychosis is schizophrenia. People with psychosis disconnect from reality. In the psychotic state, the border between the surreal world of delusions and hallucinations and the real world frequently doesn’t exist. People’s thinking, emotions, perception (seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching), and the sense of one’s own body all change. Psychosis is like dreaming with open eyes.
Treatment of psychosis requires a profound psychiatric experience and long treatment intervals, sometimes even treatment lasting for the entire life.