All About Mental Disorders and How to Overcome them with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What are Mental Disorders?

Mental disorders are those behaviours, feelings or experiences that have been medically classified as being due to some sort of disorder or fault at the neurological or biological level.

This medicalised view of human distress is not accepted universally despite the traction that the concept seems to have in the media and there is very little scientific evidence to support this model.

Nevertheless, it has become the dominant way of thinking about human emotional problems and has led to creation of many different drugs that are claimed to correct the underlying causes of  these disorders.

You can read more about the different models of mental illness here.

List of Mental Disorders

Although there are over 300 mental health disorders listed in the DSM-V we may be able to help you with the following using psychological therapy:

• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Avoidant Personality Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Dependent Personality Disorder
• Depersonalisation Disorder
• Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• Prolonged Grief Disorder
• Separation Anxiety Disorder

Treatment of Mental Disorders

In general terms, mental disorders are treated in one of two fundamentally different ways, although these treatments will often be used simultaneously.

Many people find that medication that is prescribed for their mental disorder helps to alleviate many of the symptoms associated with their problem.

It is important to be aware, however, that these medical interventions are generally NOT designed to cure the cause of the problem, but rather they are designed to minimise or manage the symptoms.

The medical and pharmaceutical sectors openly acknowledge that the true cause of mental disorders are largely unknown.

There are, like all treatment options, pros and cons to using medication in the management of mental disorders with most of the cons being the range of possible negative side-effects that drugs can trigger.

Please be aware that Lee Psychology do NOT offer any medical treatments and cannot prescribe medications.

Therapy & Counselling for Mental Disorders

Therapy & Counselling treatments for mental disorders involve discussing your problems with a therapist, psychologist or counsellor.

Unlike medication, the relief from symptoms is achieved through re-evaluating or re-framing how you make sense of some of your experiences.

Because of the link between thoughts and emotional outcomes, talking therapies can often help to resolve the underlying causes of your distress rather than just manage or mask them.

Overall, psychological treatments are not usually prone to producing negative side-effects, although some people find talking about traumatic experiences quite challenging, often leading to higher level of anxiety during the process.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about mental disorders or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.