If you were growing up around the turn of the century you probably would not have had access to good dental care. Some people managed to hang onto some or most of their teeth, but quite a few lost their teeth. As time went on people became more sophisticated in their education and culture, as well as with their dental care. They came to place value in having good teeth, and began taking care of them using more modern methods. Eventually the focus of dental care came to include the concept of preventitive care. New we consider a trip to the dental hygienist as routine as a 10,000 mile oil change for the car.

Mental health care underwent a series of real breakthroughs in the the 1970's and 1980's with the advent of short term therapy. Though many of these programs have been well used and appreciated in business, as well as by the self-help people, they have been poorly communicated to the general public. It is now understood that the therapist who has been schooled in short-term therapy can help an individual or family get through a difficult time. It is appreciated by those who enjoy this treatment that they do not have to "reinvent the wheel" themselves, and that there are trained professionals who can facilitate real changes and then release these people back to their regular routines with a new and improved quaility of life.

I am not talking about those poor people who have had severe chemical imbalances, or lifetimes of deep-seated problems. They may require very special treatment. The counselor may be a very useful community-based professional for suggesting the right kind of referral for these people. The majority of these problems stem from getting stuck in certain ruts, and the counselor can be a regular addition to one's preventive mental health program even after the crisis is past.

Get out the "mental floss!"

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Copyright 1996 "Mental Floss" and written materials by Donald J. Boles MD.