While all afflictions and conditions that affect the mind are unique, there are methods of categorizing them into groups in order to predict what treatments are most likely to be helpful.

Traditionally, mind healing has grouped various mental disorders by symptom. For example, forgetfulness can be caused both by dementia and by failed memory charms, and both were treated similarly (when they were treated at all): potions containing rosemary, or perhaps gingko if the mind healer was educated in non-Western herbology.

One sees the problem with this approach quickly when considering a physical ailment. A headache might be caused by a curse, bumping the head against the wall, strained eyesight, or dragonpox (and those are just a few potential reasons for a headache). Knowing what caused the headache will allow for a much more useful treatment than simple pain-relieving charms or potions. And those charms or potions might aggravate the problem--it is now well known that many of the standard pain relief potions worsen the scarring associated with dragonpox and can lengthen the ailment by more than three days.

Therefore, the first priority in mind healing should be discerning the root cause of the symptoms.

For the purposes of an introductory survey, we will list five broad categories of mental disorders, grouped by cause.

1. Damage due to spells or magical disease, such as memory charm damage or Post-Mumblemumps Syndrome
   
2. Physical damage to the brain, such as from taking a blow to the head
3. Congenital disorders, such as Rett syndrome or Fragile X syndrome
4. Neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
   
5. Psychological disorders, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Readers should note that the boundaries between these categories are not as sharp as this listing may make them appear. For example, people who take many blows to the head, such as professional Quidditch players, are at greater risk than the general population for Alzheimer's disease later in life. And evidence is mounting that spell damage of certain types increases the risk and severity of various psychological disorders. However, as a basic model for educational purposes, this is a useful way of thinking about the ways a mental disorder might develop.