The information in this chapter relates to many different sets of goals, problems, and kinds of people. Not all of this information will be relevant to you, so you will find instructions to direct you to specific recommendations that take into account your own needs and interests. This chapter is where practical and prudent planning can begin. In fact, this book represents the first attempt to match you, your personal qualities, and your goals with the most effective therapy or therapies available to you. Even though nearly all of the main approaches to counseling and therapy are creations of the past century, it may seem surprising that no unified effort has been made to identify what specific kinds of problems each approach is especially useful for treating and for what types of clients. In this respect, the field of medicine is much better developed. The discipline of medical diagnostics is now on the verge of becoming scientific, and it is now possible to identify for many conditions and in individual cases very concrete and well-defined treatment procedures that are likely to be effective. This has not been true in the field of psychology: most research efforts have so far gone into formulating definitions of the various mental and emotional disorders. But the important work, from the prospective client's point of view, had yet to be done: to make it possible for him to know--in relation to his individual problems, goals, interests, abilities, and temperament--which approaches to therapy are likely to help him the most. If you are in serious emotional pain, waiting until all of the research results are in is just not possible; you need help _now_. In spite of incomplete knowledge in psychotherapy, a large body of information has come from studies of the effectiveness of therapies for different problems and for different kinds of people. But until now this information existed only in fragmented form and was familiar only to professional psychologists. Enough data are in to begin to draw reasonable guidelines for individuals who seek psychological help. The mapping process described in this chapter is the result of assembling and then organizing large quantities of data from many sources. It was then necessary to design an easily followed {61} step-by-step approach to enable you to narrow down the many therapeutic alternatives to a small number that, through your efforts and the assistance of a therapist, can be of help to you. Guidelines of this kind are never static; they will change to some extent as time and knowledge advance. OBSTACLES TO FINDING A THERAPY THAT FITS YOU There are real obstacles to efficient treatment in psychotherapy. They cost people much time, energy, hope, and money as they try to find appropriate help. Psychotherapy is not yet a systematic field. There are three main reasons why it is so difficult to find approaches to therapy that will fit individual clients and their needs: