OÄ Priv-Doz. Dr. Beate Schrank MSc, PhD

There are a number of mental illnesses to which one can assign certain symptoms. Depression, mania, dementia, alcohol and drug abuse, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, psychosis and schizophrenia, eating disorders, personality disorders, tic disorders, attention deficit disorder - to name just a few examples.

And it is often a relief to have a name - a diagnosis - for what you are experiencing and suffering from. A diagnosis can help to better describe, understand and communicate the personal feelings.

But often it is not so easy to classify what one experiences into a diagnostic drawer. And most of the time, this pigeonhole is not what is actually important. It is more important to understand what you are suffering from, how it came about and what it means for you. Such an explanatory model can and may be subjective, because it is about personal experience.

For me it is important to develop such a model together with you and to really grasp what moves you. Because only this can be the basis for good therapy goals and good therapy decisions - no matter what the diagnosis may be.