A Rorschach inkblot test presents a patient with an ambiguous image and asks the patient to interpret what they see. This process would be of most use to a psychoanalyst, who aims to help the patient reveal their unconscious thoughts and desires.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, short-term therapeutic technique that aims to change a client's maladaptive cognitions and behaviors into more realistic and/or adaptive ones. CBT is commonly used for those with various mood and anxiety disorders.

Free association is a common tenet of psychoanalysis that allows clients to speak for themselves. Free association allows the therapist to figure out the client's unconscious motives and desires. 

The biological approach to treating a mental illness addresses chemical imbalances, lesions in the brain, or some physical illness that may be underlying the psychological symptoms. Most of the time this involves prescribing drugs to stabiliize the patient and restore balance in the brain and body.

The cognitive approach to treating mental illness is designed to find maladaptive and harmful thought patterns and to replace them with healthier ones. This is the most effective in treating less extreme disorders, where ruminating or negative thought patterns may be causing a lot of the suffering. For instance, a person with low self-worth may constantly think people are attacking them personally, but a cognitive therapist may have the patient reframe their thinking so that they don't take everything personally. This encourages the patient to become more holistic in their thinking and stop propagating bad thoughts about themselves.

The point of view taken towards mentally ill people in the Middle Ages was deeply religous. As such, they were seen as people possessed by demonic spirits who could be treated through exorcism or a process called trephining. In trephining, one made holes in the skull, which were supposed to allow the evil spirits to escape. Other mentally ill people were persecuted and sent to jail. Some observers of the time, mainly philosophers, began to hint at biological explanations for mental illness but this did not become a prominent point of view until much later on.

Tertiary prevention is preventing an illness from getting worse. This kind of prevention is used when the illness is permanent and/or chronic. An example would be an alcoholic who, already having quit alcoholic, keeps attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since this stabilizes them in periods during which they may be tempted to drink alcohol again.

The main focus of existential therapy is helping a patient carve out their own meaning in life. This therapy was popularized by Victor Frankl who survived the Nazi concentration camps and wrote Man's Search For Meaning. His main reasoning was that life was full of suffering, and he experienced life's worst sufferings during the concentration camp, but meaning must be found from it. For instance, although there were many cruel guards in the camp, he came to profoundly appreciate the kindness of some who treated him well. He found meaning in his situation, which was that human kindness can be found even in the most hostile of places.

The ultimate aim of existential therapy is to help patients do the same in their circumstances: find meaning from their suffering as well as a general purpose in their life to fulfill.

Because alcoholism is a disease with genetic components, the children of alcoholics are especially at risk for developing the disease in the future. Prevention strategies directed specifically toward at-risk populations are categorized as secondary prevention.

The diathesis-stress model posits that although a person may be genetically predisposed to suffer from a mental disorder; its onset may be triggered by stress. For instance, a person who is genetically disposed to schizophrenia may only ever start to experience symptoms after a significantly stressful event. Otherwise, they may never suffer from the disorder their entire lives.