Does a psychiatrist need to have first-hand experience of schizophrenia in order to effectively treat a schizophrenic patient? By way of hearing confessions and ministering to many different couples, priests hear and observe all sorts of personal difficulties and situations. As another poster said, human nature is pretty stable. An astute and devout priest will usually get right to the heart of the problem. Unfortunately, there aren't as many of them around as there used to be.
Not really, because it is, at root, a medical condition--i.e., certain chemicals in the brain are not in balance, and this causes the brain to not work right. Treatment thus becomes a matter of prescribing the right medication in the proper dosage.
My concern is that the systematic exclusion of married life from the ranks of the clergy is not necessarily a good thing.
I think the Orthodox Church has the right idea: married men may be ordained, but ordained men may not marry. It seemed a good enough rule for the permanent deaconate; what is the problem with extending it to the priesthood? Answer: nothing, as celibacy is a disciplinary rule only.