I for one have been against calling psychological professions by the umbrella name of "behavioral health." Somehow I have a hunch that the term "behavioral health" came into being because someone thought "mental health" or "psychological health" stigmatized people, and they have a point. People do get called "mental" or "psycho" as a put-down. But I find it demeaning to put the word "behavior" in there. It suggests that what's going on inside my head isn't important, just as long as I conduct myself the way others expect me to. And then thinking in those terms makes me feel like a naughty child being told to "behave."

On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with talking of "behavior therapy." I am beginning to see, and put into practice, that feelings are OK, but what we do with those feelings can be healthy or not. I think the whole idea behind psychotherapy is learning to deal with overwhelming emotions or thoughts, without resorting to an activity that harms self or others. I have to keep reminding myself that the word "behavior" isn't limited to describing the conduct of children. Adults "behave" too. So do animals. And in the movie Ghostbusters, even major household appliances "behave" a certain way, generally expected or not.

Does anyone think like I do on this subject? How can I get rid of that feeling of being scolded when I hear the term "behavioral health" applied?

[ThisWayOut]

I too dislike the term "behavioral health" when it comes to describing psychological issues. I think there are some legitimately behavioral health concerns, but I don't really think the term works to encompass all of the mental health field...

[RedBarchetta]

Never gave it a thought at all, and honestly even seeing it, I guess I can understand, but still really don't care one way or the other....It's just a term for a thing - if you called it "Garbage hall" it wouldn't change what actually happens there.....

[pachyderm]

The term may hark back to the "behaviorists" such as B. F. Skinner who disliked discussing anything that could not be observed "on the surface" such as behavior. I think it is a problem created by such people.

[Odee]

Lovebird: AMEN!!!

[-jimi-]

Escaping stigma by creating a new word never worked. We have to work for better understanding and education.

Mental health is good enough for me.

[archipelago]

I agree. I dislike "behavioral health" to describe things that are psychological. Many people with mental health issues do not have problems with behavior at all. But then I'm also not really a fan of behavioral methods of psychology. And I've seen actually do harm to people instead of helping them, which is possible with any form of therapy I suppose. Maybe a new term that was more neutral would work instead. How about brain health? Just joking.

[pachyderm]

I once went to a clinic with the name "clinic for mental hygiene". That's even worse! They no longer have that name.

[-jimi-]

Urk... sounds like we're dirty and need a bath.

[archipelago]

ROFLMAO! There used to be bathing facilities here on the West Coast for such things. It was believed that salt water was restorative. It turns out that there is an effect of negative ions, though I don't think that is what they had in mind at all.

[big zero]

If I remember anything from the psych books I read, behaviorism is just a branch of psychology that works in terms of stimulus -> response a lot of the time. You can't just group all psychology under that umbrella, just as what's going on in the mind may or may not show in one's behavior (remember the cliche "It's always the quiet ones"?)

[ECHOES]

Used to bother me, until I found my wonderful therapist, an analyst, in a suite of therapists, the place labeled simply "Behavioral Health".
In fact, I was pretty angry the first time I met with her and saw that sign. I thought I had made a big mistake, that I had been fooled.
But that is not the case.
I don't care what it's called

I have an excellent therapist too, in a medical clinic with a branch called the Behavioral Health department. I told him how I felt about the term. He understood but didn't venture an opinion one way or another. It doesn't matter in terms of quality. He can't help what it's called.

[Sabra]

Originally Posted by pachyderm

I once went to a clinic with the name "clinic for mental hygiene". That's even worse! They no longer have that name.

Is that the same as brainwashing?

Sabra

I just happened to find this article from Psychology today.

Behavioral health versus mental health: Does what we call it influence how people think about it?

What I liked best was where the author points out that "behavioral health" doesn't address the root causes. We don't want to merely prevent the behaviors, but we also want to address the underlying issues that lead to the behaviors.

[LovelaceF]

Originally Posted by Sabra

Is that the same as brainwashing?

Sabra

[LovelaceF]

Is "thinking" a behaviour?

Originally Posted by LovelaceF

Is "thinking" a behaviour?

Oh, that's a good one. Let me "think" about it. Cognitive therapy is considered behavioral, and it centers around changing our thoughts to change our emotions, right?

[Maven]

My issue with "behavioral health" is, I've never had it! I get pills tossed at me, and there's no practice in dealing with my anxieties, suggestions for dealing with my OCD, or anything. I've gone to clinics calling themselves "Behavioral Health," but never actually received any.

Originally Posted by Maven

My issue with "behavioral health" is, I've never had it! I get pills tossed at me, and there's no practice in dealing with my anxieties, suggestions for dealing with my OCD, or anything. I've gone to clinics calling themselves "Behavioral Health," but never actually received any.

That's the trouble with using it as a euphemism (as if it needs one; there is nothing wrong with the original term) for "mental health." It's incomplete. I suppose they act on the assumption that the medication will change your behavior by changing your brain chemistry? Not that it's right. I am a believer in medication when necessary, but it doesn't do the whole job. It is also helpful to know what to do to calm yourself down when your thinking goes haywire. I've decided that thinking is a behavior, since it's something we can somewhat control, and since behaviors (such as breathing) are not always strictly conscious and voluntary.

The definition of behavior, loosely, is "what an organism or object does." Plants open their leaves toward the sun, spread their roots out in the soil, and convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. That's plant behavior. There's no value judgment to it, no should or shouldn't, no right or wrong, it's simply what a plant does. Generally, plants don't get up and walk around, or talk, or groom themselves, or write novels. I would feel very disturbed if I saw a plant doing any of that, because it's not their typical behavior.

I think the biggest reason I don't like the term "behavioral health" is that, as mentioned, it echoes that command an angry parent barks at an errant child. "Behave!" This suggests that I, as a middle-aged adult of what I'd like to think is reasonably high intelligence, don't know how to behave myself properly, and need to go to a clinic and have someone tell me what to do.

And this, I believe, may be an assumption made by others which leads to denial of somebody's need for professional help. For example, a mother may balk at the idea of getting counseling for her daughter because "all she needs to do is listen to me, and straighten up and fly right. Why pay a counselor, when I can tell her how she should behave?"

Come to think of it, even when said to a child, "behave" is incomplete. What is the child supposed to do in response? How exactly should he/she "behave?" In my childhood, the command to "behave" usually meant, "Stop drawing attention to yourself. Sit there quietly and act as if you don't exist, while I'm busy taking care of everything but you." I'd guess this is why the word "behave" is so odious to me.

By the way if I'm correct, the state of Texas still calls their state-provided clinics "MHMR," or "Mental Health, Mental Retardation." Someone getting treatment for depression or schizophrenia is lumped into the same category with a person who has a serious learning disability. No wonder psychiatric illnesses aren't taken seriously, because this classification calls their very intelligence into question.

[Perna]

I think they changed the name to cover the addictions and other clear-cut "behaviors" that they have tried and true plans for and know how to treat, etc.; insurance companies know what to do with them, can classify them or the government has people in the legal system, public health system, those with serious/chronic mental illness, etc. It's a government/insurance thing.

Back in the early 1970's when I started therapy I had to go to the Department of Mental Hygiene Talk about feeling dirty, LOL.

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by Perna

Back in the early 1970's when I started therapy I had to go to the Department of Mental Hygiene Talk about feeling dirty, LOL.

Wash your mouth out with soap!

[spondiferous]

Some good points being made here, all around. Glad I stumbled upon this thread.

[sunblossom]

I hear what you are saying lovebird. It puts one in a bit of a bind really. I still have not found a term, label, descriptor that I am comfortable with. They all make me quiver because they all fail to feel like a proper fit.

As a child I learned to 'behave' so that I could earn my father's love and praises. I performed my way into his heart. I knew it was an effective strategy because my brother and sister didn't adopt the same strategy with my dad and they didn't earn the same returns I did growing up. I was the favoured child and everyone knew it. I worked hard to please him and behave in accordance with his wishes. I was the suck-up.

Interestingly it was me who ended up estranged from our dad for some 30 years while my brother and sister maintained relations with him. Eventually we found our way back to a father daughter relationship but the old ‘behave to please’ programming falls right back into place any time we are together. I still find myself measuring myself by his standards.

I recognize that the word 'behave' has some powerful connotations for me personally. I have a tendency to frame most everything as the consequence of my behaviour. Good, bad or indifferent. I will deny myself outside intervention (medical care or family support) because I argue that I must first clean up my bad behaviours before I have a right to take anyone’s time or attention. I argue that I don’t have the right to ask for help unless and until I first make every effort on my own to behave in an appropriate and healthy manner. And as my dad’s voice still echoes in my head, ‘go figure it out.... come back when you have the answer and when you are ready to do the right thing.’ Or ‘Only sissies ask for help.... buck up and get to work.’

[sunblossom]

According to the teachings of the Medicine Wheel personal wellness is achieved by maintaining a balance between our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Mental health in this model refers to our intellect (the mind); emotional refers to our feelings (the heart).

As a strong believer in the medicine wheel and it's teachings I am led to see things wholistically. It teaches us that all 4 quadrants of the medicine wheel need to be nurtured in order to maintain true balance and harmony as a whole being.

Now that I think about it some more Wholistic Health is a better umbrella fit for me. It requires me to consider the interconnections of body, mind, soul and spirit. The interconnections of how I treat my body with how I interact with others, with how I process information, with how I view the meaning of life. They are all connected and each one influences the other.

I can no more behave my way to success than I can think my way there. I can no more pray my way to happiness than perform my way to there. I can build a house with my talents and intellect but I need my heart and spirit to make that house a home.

To achieve good health one needs to take care of the whole of the being. Wholistic Health sounds good to me. It is more accurate and less stigmatizing than Mental Health and less judgemental and weighted than Behavioural Health from where I sit.