Types of therapy
At Paracelsus Recovery, we adopt a completely holistic treatment model, with your personal psychiatrist playing a central role. Their goal is to alleviate your mental distress, provide you with a diagnosis (if necessary) and formulate your treatment plans.
What is psychiatry?
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine concerned with diagnosing, treating and preventing mental health conditions. A psychiatrist has a deep understanding of brain chemistry and the brain-body connection, making them able to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems by performing or ordering a full range of medical laboratory and psychological tests.
At Paracelsus Recovery, our psychiatrists work on the basis of the biopsychosocial model of illness, which views health and disease as being influenced by a combination of biology, psychology and social factors. This approach recognises that mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders arise from multiple causes, necessitating a holistic treatment plan. Depending on your specific needs, treatment may include various types of talk therapy (psychotherapy), medication, psychosocial interventions and other treatments (such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).
Psychiatry is beneficial for treating a huge range of mental health conditions including:
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Phobias
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Trauma
• Personality disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Eating disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Addictions
Psychiatrists can also provide support for people struggling with chronic health conditions or chronic pain.
What’s the difference between psychiatry and psychotherapy?
It’s easy to confuse psychiatry and psychotherapy, but it’s important to recognise the significant distinctions between the two. Both fields aim to relieve mental distress and suffering, yet they employ different approaches.
Psychiatrists are medically trained doctors who can prescribe medication, while psychotherapists do not have this authority. Armed with a deep understanding of the interconnections between mental and physical health, psychiatrists are equipped to diagnose disorders, manage treatment plans, and provide therapies for complex and severe mental illnesses. In contrast, psychotherapists focus on non-medical interventions, emphasising social, cultural, and environmental factors through various forms of psychotherapy (talk therapy).
At Paracelsus Recovery, our psychologists and psychiatrists collaborate closely as an integral part of your personalised treatment team, ensuring a tailored approach that meets your unique needs.
How is psychiatry included in my programme?
As we do not adopt a one-size-fits-all treatment approach, exactly what psychiatry elements your treatment programme will include depends on your specific needs. No matter what you come to Paracelsus Recovery for, a senior psychiatrist will lead your treatment programme at Paracelsus Recovery and work with the rest of your team to create your bespoke plan.
Working in conjunction with your psychotherapists, your psychiatrist will help you address the emotional issues, traumas and negative thoughts that are related to your suffering. To improve the accuracy of your psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, we take a precision psychiatry approach, which involves integrating genomics, neuroimaging, biomarker analysis, and artificial intelligence into the diagnostic process. Psychoeducation will provide you with more knowledge about your mental health condition by exploring the triggers of the illness and how to manage or eliminate the symptoms. If necessary, and with your agreement, your psychiatrist will also prescribe medication.
Unique to Switzerland, all our psychiatrists are not only experts in diagnostics and treatment prescriptions, but also highly trained in psychotherapy. They are an essential part of the psychotherapeutic team, collaborating with psychologists and live-in therapists to offer a more holistic and comprehensive approach to your recovery.
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