Loneliness as a Clinical Fact: Loneliness and Psychological Disorders

Rapid changes in structure of society varying between life styles to work conditions to overcrowding makes loneliness a common problem of urban life. Research has shown that loneliness is directly related to psychological disorders. Although loneliness in psychological disorders can be described objectively, it is very difficult for clinicians and researchers to define the nature of this experience, since the experience itself is subjective. In the light of existing literature, the qualitative characteristics and origins of the loneliness experienced in psychological disorders for the cases seen at the City Women's Counseling Center for help are discussed. Loneliness is a basic symptom in selected psychological disorders, or the person may experience loneliness as a severe problem throughout their life with disorder. Psychological disorders identified include: schizophrenia, social anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, withdrawn personality disorder, and dependent personality disorder. Case examples presented in this article were randomly selected from the clients who applied for counseling to the City Women's Counseling Center and met the diagnostic criteria based on DSM-V. It is hoped that the case examples discussed in this article will assist counselors in determining intervention methods that will ensure that the client's needs are appropriately meet