Behavioral and Mental Health

July marks the beginning of Social Wellness Month, an awareness campaign that promotes socializing and bonding with others as well as self-love and acceptance - all of which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that chronic pain affects nearly 50 million American adults, with about half reporting persistent daily pain lasting for more than three months. To make matters even worse, some people with chronic pain have resorted to prescription pills, which contributes to the increased misuse of opioids and other drugs.

Therapy as a form of treatment can be traced back to 460BC when Hippocrates and Galenus used different techniques— including massage, manual therapy, and hydrotherapy—to treat patients. Today, there are four main types of therapy, grouped into physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and applied behavioral analysis. 

Memories play a significant role in shaping who we are as individual people. Understandably, memory loss due to age is a fear shared by many and can be exacerbated by certain health conditions or injuries.

Did you know that in 2019, the United States had about 223,135 traumatic brain injury (TBI) hospitalizations? That comes out to about 611 cases every day - and that's excluding those treated in an emergency department or who did not receive help! So, in honor of May being Stroke Awareness Month, keep reading to learn more about the symptoms of traumatic brain injuries and explore how occupational therapy can significantly help patients recover as well as regain a better quality of life. 

It's safe to say, everyone knows that a constructive feedback loop is essential for ongoing personal and professional growth, which is especially true for both patients and providers. In fact, by implementing feedback-informed treatment (FIT), an empirically-supported, structured approach to gathering as well as analyzing patient feedback, therapy and rehab providers can help improve the delivery of services such as applied behavior analysis (ABA), physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.