Diagnosing and Treating Life Transitions Online
Change is hard and yet it happens many times throughout our lives. These changes come in all shapes and sizes – both positive and negative. No matter what the case may be, adjusting to all types of change can prove difficult. Luckily, there are coping mechanisms that can help with these adjustments.
Adjusting to change can lead to a variety of symptoms and these symptoms or feelings are normal. When these life transitions are interfering with your daily life, they are called adjustment disorders. Adjustment disorders are typically short-term conditions that occur when someone has a difficulty coping with a source of stress, such as a major life change, loss or event. These events can include:
- Starting/ending a relationship or marriage
- Losing or changing jobs
- Death of a loved one
- Having an accident
- Living through a natural disaster
- Being a victim of a crime
- Developing a serious illness
During a video consult on Amwell, one of our board-certified therapists will ask you a series of targeted questions to determine the severity of your adjustment disorder. Your diagnosis will be based on the psychological evaluation, duration, severity of symptoms and your medical history. Once a diagnosis has been made, your doctor will go over the risks and benefits of the various treatment plans.
Options for treatment of an adjustment disorder may include:
- Psychotherapy (the most common treatment)
- Joining support groups
