What sorts of issues do psychotherapists deal with?
In short, anything that is causing you distress or impairment in personal, family, social, or occupational function is a likely candidate for psychotherapy. Even physical problems, which should first be treated by a medical doctor, can have negative effects that can be relieved with psychotherapy. The types of issues can be broken down into categories: • Pathological – These are the issues found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). • Disorders that are generally physical in cause: Retardation, learning, Delirium/dementia/memory, motor skills, communication, pervasive developmental, and tic disorders. • Disorders that can have physical/psychological causes and effects: Anxiety, depression, sexual/gender, sleep, impulse, eating, dissociative, personality, substance abuse/dependence, attention deficit, disruptive behavior, elimination, psychotic (schizophrenia, etc.) and special childhood disorders (separation anxiety, reactive attachment disorder, etc.).
