29 Physicians are allowed to prescribe medications, psychologists aren t. It also depends on the therapist s training and experience since every therapist is usually specialised in different techniques. Behavioural therapy Cognitive behavioural therapy Humanistic therapy Psychodynamic therapy Dialectican behavioural therapy grief: lutto mood: umore overwhelming: schiacciante relief: sollievo self-harm: autolesionismo to trap: intrappolare troubling: fastidioso 62 BODY AND MIND PSYCHOTHERAPY Psychotherapy refers to a variety of treatments that aim at dealing with mental health issues, helping a person to identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. In general, its purpose is to help patients with psychopathologies or serious life difficulties to gain relief from symptoms, maintain or enhance daily functioning, and improve quality of life. Who is a psychotherapist? In Italy, a trained psychotherapist is a medical doctor or graduated psychologist who added to their education a four-year postgraduate qualification, completed a specialist training, and passed a state exam to be included in the national register of psychotherapists. Psychotherapists assist patients by listening, talking, understanding, and solving their mental health problems through guided conversation and different therapeutic approaches. Main approaches There are many different approaches that can be used, and each may be used alone or in combination with others. The choice of the best approach or approaches to use depends on the disorder to be treated since some approaches may work better with certain clinical situations. The most important approaches are the following. Psychoanalysis is based on the belief that the unconscious mind influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and works by examining how past experiences (often from childhood) contribute to current experience and actions. Psychodynamic therapy analyses unconscious processes that can be seen in the patient s behaviour and helps patients develop awareness of their emotions and process unresolved feelings. Cognitive-behavioural therapy is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and actions are interconnected, and that, when these are negative, they can trap a person in a negative cycle. It works by breaking overwhelming problems into smaller parts. Mental issues that can benefit from psychotherapy Psychotherapy is mostly long-term because the causes of mental disorders are various, complex, and have different symptoms and origins. Some of the main ones could be related to: grief; relationship difficulties; stress and anxiety; depression; extreme mood changes; lack of confidence; eating disorders; sexual abuse; self-harm; obsessive behaviours; panic attacks; phobias; addictions.