Health Information

Madison Bentley's Information is presented on various health conditions, treatments and procedures with the goal of empowering patients to take an active role in managing their health with informed decisions about their care. This provides patients with knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand conditions and treatment plans that affect them.

The effort ultimately leads to positive experiences with healthcare providers, to improved health outcomes and a better quality of life.

Licensed Professional Counselors

Georgia Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) are licensed mental health professionals trained to assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders. They hold master’s degrees, pass national board exams, and complete at least 3,000 hours of supervised post-master's experience to practice independently.  Some LPCs are board certified throught the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).

LPCs utilize counseling, psychotherapy, and testing to address mental health disorders. They cannot prescribe medication, which must be handled by a psychiatrist or primary care physician.

The need for counseling services is tremendous. Many millions of people are affected by mental health and/or substance abuse issues each year, and it is estimated that less than one-half of this population receives the necessary care. Licensed professional counselors, like other mental health care providers, may specialize, through training and/or experience, in a particular aspect of the field, such as substance abuse or suicide prevention.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners

Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) are mental health care professionals who begin their professional careers by attending nursing school, and then going on to complete either master's or doctoral degrees. They are trained to work with indi...

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy or counseling, includes several types of treatment for psychological distress or psychiatric disorder. Psychotherapy involves discussions with a trained professional in order to clarify patient thinking and behavior. Just about any type of emotional disturbance can be effectively addressed with psychotherapy, although in many cases other methods of treatment, such as medication, will be necessary as well. ...

Acute Stress Disorder

Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a psychiatric condition that occurs after an individual experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as a death, crime, serious injury, accident, or threat of violence and then develops severe anxiety or other symptoms of psychological distress. Patients who develop ASD have experienced terror and helplessness during the event. This relatively newly defined condition has similarities to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but involves short-term symptoms that occur within a month of the traumatic event and last from a few days days to a month or less. ...

Addiction

An addiction is an uncontrollable dependence on a certain substance or activity. People become addicted to different things for different reasons, but can be affected both physically and psychologically. With addiction, the activity or substance often becomes the major focus of a person's life, leading to the exclusion of other activities, impairing work, social, and family responsibilities, and affecting the individual's health, mood, and self-respect. Addicted individuals may suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem or depression and often feel as if they have no control over their lives or behavior. ...

Adjustment Disorders

An adjustment disorder is a syndrome in which the patient experiences psychological and sometimes physical symptoms as a result of a stressful life event. While anyone might be expected to have reactions to a stressor, such as the death of a loved one or a divorce, when the reaction is extreme and interferes with normal functioning for an extended period of time, it is designated an adjustment disorder. ...

Adult ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, is chronic disorder that includes symptoms of inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. ADHD is commonly diagnosed in young children, however, many people continue to suffer from this condition as adults. Adult ADHD is typically more subtle and harder to diagnose, but affects many adults that were diagnosed as children. Most adults with ADHD had ADHD as children, even if it was never diagnosed. Some people with ADHD have fewer symptoms as they get older, while others continue to have significant symptoms as adults. ...

Anger Management

Anger management is the process of learning to recognize the signs of one's own encroaching anger and mastering techniques to deal with it safely and effectively. While anger is a normal, healthy emotion, in many people it becomes excessive and out of control, resulting in damaged relationships, employment difficulties, and even physical violence. Uncontrolled anger not only causes disharmony and pain, it is a frequent cause of criminal behavior. In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of how widespread issues with anger are and how greatly they affect the world around us. This has resulted in the development of various anger management techniques designed to channel anger in constructive ways. ...

Depression

Depression is a medical condition that causes extreme feelings of sadness and emptiness. People who suffer from depression may lose interest in activities they once enjoyed, and experience a constant feeling of hopelessness on a daily basis. Depression, also known as clinical or major depression, may be triggered by certain events or occur along with other illnesses. Severe depression can interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, eat, interact with others or enjoy life. With treatment, however, depression can become a manageable condition. ...

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, is a psychiatric problem in which anxiety is not a temporary state but a chronic condition. While it is normal for all individuals to worry about an upcoming event such as an examination or job interview, patients with GAD are in a perpetual state of anxiety, unable to relax. The disorder may become so severe that it interferes with school, work or relationships. GAD is a very common disorder, affecting millions of individuals in the United States alone. More than twice as many women as men suffer from the disorder. ...

Grief Counseling

In recent decades, various types of grief counseling have been developed to help individuals cope with the intense and complicated pain involved in losing a loved one. It has been accepted that loss involves many emotions which must be dealt with before the bereaved individual can successfully move on and adapt to the changes wrought by the death. For many people, assistance in the form of grief counseling is a necessary part of the process. Grief counselors, trained in the discipline, may be clergy, psychiatric nurses, physician assistants (PAs), psychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, or psychiatrists. ...

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder in which patients suffer from sudden and unexplained attacks of extreme fear and loss of physical and psychological control. They may feel in terrible danger of overwhelming embarrassment or death. Panic attacks are sometimes precipitated by an anxiety-producing event, but often seem to occur without any provocation and are all the more terrifying for that reason. ...

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition triggered by a traumatic event during which great physical harm occurs or is threatened. While almost everyone experiences trauma at one time or another, for most people the feelings of terror and helplessness subside over time. For patients with PTSD, symptoms may appear later, last longer and be much more severe than for the average person. There are many reasons an individual may develop PTSD, none of them under the individual's control. ...

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is a common condition that affects an estimated 10 percent of new mothers, causing symptoms of sadness and anxiety during this new and often overwhelming experience. This condition often develops as a result of the physical, emotional, hormonal and life changes that take place after childbirth and as a woman adjusts to motherhood. ...

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD, is a depressive disorder that occurs in accordance with the seasons. Most people with seasonal affective disorder experience symptoms in the fall and winter seasons. More rarely, patients experience this condition during the spring and summer. It is important to seek medical attention for this condition not only to maintain mood stability, but to prevent symptoms from worsening. ...

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is a common anxiety disorder that affects many people. People with social anxiety have excessive and unreasonable fears before and during different social situations. With a social anxiety disorder, normal, everyday interactions may cause feelings of anxiety, nervousness, self-consciousness and embarrassment. Individuals who suffer from social phobia may avoid certain social situations because of the overwhelming fear and anxiety that these situations may cause. The anxiety and emotional discomfort caused by a social anxiety disorder may interfere with daily routines, relationships, school or employment. ...

Stress Management

Now that the deep connection between physical health and emotional well-being has been established, stress management is recognized as an important component of daily life. Reducing stress has been found to improve relationships and personal satisfaction, and make students and employees more efficient. In order for successful stress management to take place, a stress assessment must be completed, designed to evaluate a patient's stress level and to highlight any areas of concern. These results are used to devise a customized treatment plan that provides patients with a variety of techniques to alleviate stress and increase comfort, energy level and productivity. ...

Substance Abuse

Substance abuse is the excessive use of a drug or substance, despite the harmful consequences that may occur. Individuals that abuse certain drugs or substances become addicted to these substances and cannot control their ability to resist the intense urges to take them. This abuse can affect a person's physical health and personal or social functioning. Substance abuse can include regular, excessive, or compulsive drinking of alcohol, and/or the habitual use of illegal or prescription drugs or other harmful substances. Severe substance abuse can destroy relationships, end careers, and lead to stroke, heart disease, brain damage, cancer, and even death. ...