Psychotherapy usually refers to a broad range of treatments that have in common the use of psychological means to treat mental suffering and pain. In this respect, psychotherapy differs from medication.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), 4th Edition, refers to such types of pain and suffering as mental disorders. Cited from the manual, "In DSM IV, each of the mental disorders is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (e.g., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom."

The broad range of psychotherapeutic treatments available today varies on form (i.e., Personal/Marital, group, or Children/Family settings), techniques (relaxation, drama, bilateral brain stimulation, flooding, etc.), or underlying theoretical conceptualization (psychoanalytical, Gestalt, behaviorism, cognitive science, client centered, and more). The quality and success (or failure) of a treatment also depends greatly on the qualities of the therapist as a person, and on a successful match of qualities in both therapist and client.

It is often highly beneficial to combine more than one psychotherapeutic treatment that may also include medication, into a treatment program .

Psychotherapy is a profession, and as such requires from those who conduct it a long and complex training, adherence to an ethical code, and a membership in an organization of professionals where their abilities, successes, and failure is monitored.

Counselling is a term that sometimes overlap psychotherapy. However, we tend to agree with the majority of professionals, that counselling should be referred to as a tool besides psychotherapy, as such:

It is a type of troubleshooting. A counsellor facilitates a client with a problem in person, over the phone, or through internet

Debriefing may be another way to describe what counselling does. It is actually about giving the client an opportunity to be listened to. It is very often used during, and mainly after, crises, often as a stage that precedes, or leads to, psychotherapy.

The following issues, mild or not, indicate whether a professional is required to help resolve these. Third-party intervention generally does not necessarily mean an in depth therapy. In some cases a simple consultation would be adequate. If you present with one or more of the issues listed below, you may want to consider visiting your general practitioner. That is, to understand and become more knowledgeable of the way medical issues could play a role in your distress in one or more issues listed below, you could be prompted to visit your General Practitioner. Together with this we recommend you to see a mental health professional as well.

Most people can benefit from therapy, provided that they suffer from one or more of the issues mentioned above (see How Do I Know if I Need Help). A more useful question to ask is, therefore, how do I know if the therapy will be conducted in a way that would help me? To answer this, you may find it beneficial to talk to the potential therapist, or even meet them in person. Look into What Does Therapy Usually Look Like and compare it with what you hear. If the approach to your problem feels serious, and if you feel that the therapist is professional and empathic, then you have good reason to expect to benefit from therapy.

A well-conducted psychotherapy very often has two kinds of positive outputs. One is, the reason for your initial visit has been resolved, e.g., painful symptoms have substantially declined or diminished. The other output is related to growth. A successful treatment has a huge potential to install hope, to feel better about yourself and the world, and to put past issues into the right perspective.

No it does not. Lying on the sofa is part of the psychoanalytic legend. In most of the psychotherapeutic treatments currently in use, the therapy settings consist of chairs (two or more), with some exceptions as in the case of drama therapy or relaxation techniques.

Most treatments have certain common elements with respect to their structure and duration of time. Three or more phases are seen most often:

Phase I: Initial contact. At this stage you may be already aware of the need to receive professional help. You contact a therapist and agree on the date and time for an initial session.

Phase II: This phase usually takes place at the therapist's office and lasts one or more sessions. The aim is to become knowledgeable about your problem and to make a treatment plan. You and the therapist may agree to refer you to another professional based on the specific issues and on the therapist's expertise. Respectively, you may agree on a combined treatment with another professional. At this stage you may already have heard about the type of psychotherapy the therapist may offer, and now feel well informed.

Phase III: From the second/third session of treatment onwards, very often it is structured, perhaps one hour weekly, for a short-term period of 15 weeks. Practically all of the therapeutic work takes place at this phase. See also What Can I Expect From Therapy.

Phase IV / V: The last phase or phases are usually less intensive (e.g., biweekly or monthly sessions) and are aimed to prevent the initial problems returning, and to permit follow up.

At times there could be a need to enter in to a new treatment, several months or years after the initial therapy. The reasons for this could vary; and it is good to be aware of the possibility. if such a situation arises, it would not mean that you are at fault.

The psychiatric treatment often overlaps with this picture. However, sometimes it may look different in the following way - for example:

Standard course of psychiatric therapy:

Initial meeting is devoted to a comprehensive psychiatric assessment, which usually lasts at least 1.5 hours. Detailed personal history is taken and current and past mental illness issues are explored. A diagnosis is established and discussed with the client. Then, a treatment plan is offered. If applicable, appropriate medication is prescribed and its function, its possible side effects and their management are discussed. Range of alternative and non-pharmacological therapies are also discussed and referrals to appropriate therapists offered.

Follow-up meetings usually last up to one hour and their length gradually shortens, depending on the improvement of symptoms, ending with 15 minutes every 4 to 8 weeks, for short medication checks. With regard to the nature of the problem presented, the treatment plan is based on medication, or psychotherapy, or a combination. Progress of therapy is continually discussed so that treatment can be adjusted flexibly .

Psychological assessment refers to the work involved in gaining information about the client's behaviour, mental and emotional state, personality, cognition, interpersonal qualities, and current stress areas and psychosocial situation. The information may further involve client history, family history, history of issues, and client's plans for the future.

By offering assessment, the mental health professional actually says: It is pretty difficult for one person to really know another person, because psychological information is naturally well concealed, nevertheless this knowledge is crucial for us to manage the treatment and provide real help.

Assessment helps reveal psychological information, and is using various methods to achieve this. See Children, Adults, Corporate assessment.