112: When a Loved One Won’t Seek Mental Health Treatment with Dr. Alec Pollard
Sep 23, 2024
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Dr. Alec Pollard, a seasoned clinical psychologist and co-author of a book on aiding families with resistant loved ones, shares invaluable insights. He discusses the 'Family Well-Being Approach' and how appropriate support can foster recovery. Pollard highlights the dangers of enabling behaviors versus healthy accommodations and emphasizes the importance of creating incentives for treatment engagement. He also touches on self-care for caregivers, illustrating the delicate balance between aiding loved ones and maintaining one's own mental health.
Families often feel helpless and frustrated when loved ones resist mental health treatment, highlighting the need for understanding and healthy support strategies.
Recovery avoidance complicates treatment as accommodating behaviors may inadvertently perpetuate resistance, underscoring the importance of balancing support with promoting independence.
Deep dives
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Navigating Loved Ones' Mental Health
When a loved one avoids seeking mental health treatment, it creates complex challenges for families attempting to provide support. The podcast discusses this issue through insights from a psychologist who has spent nearly 45 years in the field, focusing on how families often feel helpless when their loved ones refuse help. Many families report feeling frustrated and guilty when their attempts to encourage treatment are met with resistance or denial. The discussion emphasizes that families can take steps to understand and cope with these dynamics without imposing undue pressure on their loved ones.
Understanding Recovery Avoidance
Recovery avoidance is a pattern of behavior that hinders a loved one from engaging in recovery, even if they do not consciously intend to remain impaired. The podcast explains how this phenomenon is not about the desire to avoid recovery but may stem from deeper issues that prevent individuals from addressing their problems. Families often inadvertently exacerbate this situation through accommodating behaviors or by applying pressure, which can lead to a vicious cycle of reluctance and further avoidance of treatment. This highlights the importance of balancing support with the need to encourage independence in the recovery process.
Effective Family Intervention Strategies
The discussion highlights two common approaches families often take: accommodating and minimizing a loved one's issues, which typically end up being counterproductive. Accommodating behaviors can lead to family members becoming overly involved in their loved one's issues, thereby neglecting their own needs and well-being. On the other hand, minimizing often results in nagging or lecturing, which can create resentment and resistance. The podcast offers strategies for families to take care of themselves while providing their loved ones necessary opportunities for growth, emphasizing that healthier, more balanced approaches can lead to more positive outcomes.
What do you do when a loved one won’t seek the mental health treatment that they obviously need? We are looking at the very important topic of mental health from the perspective of your concern for a loved one who might be resistant to asking for help, and what you can do about it. I’m joined by Dr. Alec Pollard, a co-author of When A Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment: How to Promote Recovery and Reclaim Your Family’s Well-Being. With a long career as a clinical psychologist, he is the founding director of the St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Join us to learn more!
Show Highlights:
Dr. Pollard’s background and four decades of experience as a psychologist
Turning his focus to help those who are concerned about their loved one’s mental health
Dr. Pollard explains The Family Well-Being Approach/Consultation
Two types of accommodations that loved ones make: commission and omission
Differentiation between appropriate and inappropriate accommodations for a loved one
Recovery avoidance: a pattern of behavior that is inconsistent with the process of recovery
Creating opportunities for a loved one to get better through support, incentives, and positive rewards
Dr. Pollard’s book and its approach of finding a balance between long-term planning and crisis management
Dr. Pollard’s takeaway about his book as his proudest achievement in his career
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