Psychotherapy in general cannot be described without making reference to diagnosis. Diagnoses in the medical world describe a group of symptoms that causes distress, such as depression, anxiety and addiction. Diagnoses such as these describe a prevalent behaviour or mood but do not describe the experience of the whole person who presents with the problem or the cause of the problem.

Often symptoms are the result of a person’s attempt to cope, adapt to stress or avoid (defend) painful or threatening feelings or memories. When the symptom is problematic it means that this attempt to cope is not working.

A thorough history taking is essential for me to gain a deeper insight into the problem. For example, we will think about when the problem first began, how it developed, what was attempted in an effort to manage the problem, what was successful, what was not successful, the effect on work, family and relationships, and so much more.