Finding the right kind of help
By Jenny Peterson
Mental health deserves the same level of care as physical health. If you break a bone, you go to an emergency room or an orthopedic specialist. If anxiety, depression, trauma, or other symptoms start disrupting daily life, mental healthcare should be part of the response, too.
For many people — especially those living with trauma-related or long-term conditions — appropriate treatment can make a meaningful difference. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) both emphasize that mental health conditions are common, treatable and often improve with early, appropriate care.
Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. Mental health needs can change as we age, go through big life shifts, or deal with hormonal changes like pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause. Stress, grief, trauma and caregiving can also bring up new challenges. Sometimes it takes trying a few different approaches to find what works best.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most widely used and well-researched forms of talk therapy. It’s what you see depicted on TV and in movies with a patient sitting on a couch across from a therapist and is commonly used for anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD and substance use disorders.
CBT is structured and goal-oriented. Sessions typically focus on present-day challenges — stress, grief, relationships or life transitions. The core idea is that thoughts, feelings and behaviors are connected. When people get stuck in unhelpful thinking patterns, it can affect mood and actions over time.
In CBT, a therapist helps you identify those patterns, question them and replace them with more balanced thinking. It’s a practical approach, often including small exercises or “homework” between sessions so skills can be applied in real life.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was originally developed for borderline personality disorder, according to the National Library of Medicine, but it’s now used more broadly for emotional regulation challenges, self-harm behaviors and intense mood swings. It can also support individuals with traits of narcissistic personality disorder when there is insight and willingness to change.
DBT focuses on building skills in four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. Instead of labeling emotions as right or wrong, DBT validates that feelings often make sense based on experience, while also helping people respond more effectively.
A key idea in DBT is holding “two truths” at once—for example, “I’m doing my best” and “I can still grow.”
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a trauma-focused therapy used to help people process distressing memories. It is most commonly used for post-traumatic stress disorder, but it can also help with grief, abuse, car accidents and other overwhelming experiences. It has been shown to be helpful for first responders.
Providers such as the Charleston EMDR & Therapy Center offer this type of care.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — often guided eye movements, tapping, or sounds — while the person recalls traumatic memories in a controlled setting. The goal is not to erase memory, but to help the brain reprocess it so it feels less emotionally overwhelming over time.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic (or somatic experiencing) therapy focuses on how trauma is stored in the body as well as the mind. Instead of only talking through experiences, it helps people notice physical responses — tightness, shallow breathing, or tension — and learn to regulate the nervous system.
In Charleston, practices such as Gnosis Charleston Integrative Counseling and Coaching Wellness Collective incorporate somatic and integrative approaches.
Sessions may include breathwork, grounding techniques or gentle movement. The goal is greater awareness and regulation of how the body responds to stress.
Somatic yoga classes at Dwell Somatic Studio in North Charleston focus on Clinical Somatic Exercise (CSE) and therapeutic yoga practices, emphasizing nervous system regulation and the release of tension patterns.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is an intense although non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses through a foil cap to stimulate areas of the brain involved in mood regulation including stimulating the release of serotonin. It is primarily used for treatment-resistant depression and sometimes obsessive-compulsive disorder.
TMS is typically considered when therapy and medication alone have not been effective. It is FDA-cleared and delivered in outpatient sessions over several weeks.
In the Charleston area, providers include MUSC Health, Inner Healing Charleston, Sweetgrass Magnetic Stimulation and Tricounty Behavioral Health.
Ketamine Therapy
Ketamine therapy is an emerging option for treatment-resistant depression. It involves low-dose ketamine administered in a supervised medical setting, often through IV infusion.
Research suggests ketamine may temporarily disrupt rigid patterns of brain activity, creating a window where thinking becomes more flexible. Some patients report rapid relief from depressive symptoms along with shifts in perspective. Unlike traditional antidepressants, which can take weeks to work, ketamine acts quickly, though effects may vary in duration. In Charleston, Charleston Ketamine Center provides individualized dosing under medical supervision.
Telehealth and Integrated Care
Access to mental healthcare has expanded through telehealth, making it easier for people to stay consistent with treatment when time, transportation or energy are barriers.
Platforms like iTrust Wellness Group, which offers robust telehealth options, as well as in-person sessions in its Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg provide coordinated care with dozens of therapists and psychiatric providers across multiple specialties. That can be especially helpful for people managing complex or overlapping conditions.
The Bottom Line
Mental health care is not one-size-fits-all. CBT, DBT, EMDR, somatic therapy, brain stimulation treatments, ketamine therapy and telehealth all serve different needs. The right approach depends on the person, the condition, and the level of support required. Finding that fit can take time, but it is often part of the healing process itself.
