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 mood disorders | category of mental disorders characterized by disturbances in mood and emotion (includes depression, mania, bipolar disorder, etc.) |
| Narcissistic Personality Disorder | Personality disorder characterized by self-preoccupation and the need for others to focus on oneself. |
| Conversion Disorder | A somatoform disorder in which a psychological problem manifests itself as a deficit in physiological functioning (e.g. blindess, paralysis). Freud called these "Hysterias". |
| Dissociative Disorders | Group of disorders that involve dysfunction of memory or an altered state of identity (e.g. dissociative identity disorder, dissociative fugue) |
| Undifferentiated Schizophrenia | Subtype of schizophrenia wherein the patient's symptoms are not easily classified as either paranoid, disorganized, or catatonic. |
| Histrionic Personality Disorder | Personality disorder characterized by excessive emotional reactions and excitability, as well as by the need for attention and overly dramatic behavior |
| Somatoform Disorders | This category of disorders includes psychological disorders characterized by physical symptoms without any actual physical causes. Hypochondriasis and conversion disorder are examples. |
| electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) | a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient |
| Hypochondriasis | A somatoform disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses. |
| Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) | also called multiple personality disorder; person displays more than one distinct personality & these personalities are expressed a different times. |
| Narcolepsy | a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks |
| paranoid | a type of schizophrenia characterized by prominent delusions that are persecutory or grandiose |
| Bipolar Disorder | a mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression |
| Dissociative Fugue | disorder in which one travels away from home and is unable to remember details of his past, including often his identity |
| dopamine | a neurotransmitter that is associated with Parkinson's disease (too little of it) and schizophrenia (too much of it) |
| hallucination | sensory experience without an accompanying sensory stimulus; auditory most common |
| Major Depressive Disorder | mood disorder characterized by two weeks or more of low energy and mood |
| Factitious Disorder | disorder in which the sufferer purposefully ingests harmful substances or engages in acts of self-harm or mutilation in order to obtain medical attention |
| disorganized schizophrenia | subtype of schizophrenia charaterized by incoherent speech and flat or inappropriate emotional affect |
| tardive dyskinesia | side effect of antipsychotic medications; repetitive, uncontrollable muscle movements |
| SSRI's | most commonly used drug treatment for depression; examples include Prozac and Zoloft |
| benzodiazepenes | central nervous system depressants used to treat anxiety disorders; examples include Xanax, Valium, and Librium |
| neuroleptics | drugs used to treat psychotic disorders; includes Risperdal, Clozaril, Thorazine |
| Lithium Carbonate | most common drug treatment for bipolar disorder |
| catatonic schizophrenia | subtype of schizophrenia marked by stupor and rigid body postures for extended periods of time |
| eating disorders | anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are examples |
| bulimia nervosa | eating disorder marked by episodes of binge eating followed by purging (through use of laxatives or induced vomiting) |
| Anorexia Nervosa | eating disorder wherein the sufferer is irrationally concerned about weight gain and avoids eating, despite being significantly underweight for his/her age and height |
| sleep apnea | a person who has this sleep disorder stops breathing and awakens several times in a night, but is often unaware of it |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | caused by exposure to trauma, such as war or violence, which leads to recurring thoughts and anxiety related to the trauma |
| organic disorders | group of disorders marked by damage to brain tissue, possibly due to disease or chemicals |
| sleep disorders | narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and night terrors are examples |
| Rational Emotive Therapy (RET or REBT) | cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis; therapist often directly challenges the patient's irrational beliefs |
| Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) | cognitive therapy developed by Aaron Beck; therapist works with the patient to correct maladaptive thoughts and harmful beliefs through hypothesis testing |
| systematic desensitization | behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders that requires creation of a fear hierarchy; the patient approaches tasks on the list while practicing relaxation |
| flooding | behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders that requires the patient confront the fearful situation at full force |
| counterconditioning | behavioral treatment that seeks to remove the association between a particular stimulus and the fearful response |
| psychoanalysis | Freud's "talking cure" that includes techniques like free association, dream interpretation, hypnosis, etc. |
| free association | Psychoanalytic technique that requires the patient to speak of anything that comes to mind, without censorship |
| transference | in Freudian theory, when a patient redirects feelings for a (for example) parent or loved one toward the therapist |
| resistance | pauses in speech or gaps in memory that occur during free association; believed by psychoanalysts to indicate attempts at repression |
| Gestalt Therapy | methods pioneered by Fritz Perls; includes the "empty chair" technique, use of "I-statements" and metaphor |
| client-centered therapy | therapy developed by Carl Rogers; non-directive |
| unconditional positive regard | according to Rogers, humans develop to their fullest when others display this: a total acceptance of others' value (without judgment) |
| active listening | conversational method used by client-centered therapists |
| token economy | system used to encourage positive behaviors by providing small rewards that can be exchanged for desired items; relies on principles of operant conditioning |
| Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) | mood disorder that afflicts sufferers in the winter months when exposure to daylight is lowest |
| rTMS | treatment for depression that involves passing an electromagnet back & forth close to the person's left eyebrow (left frontal lobe). |
| psychopharmacology | the study of the effects of drugs on the mind and behavior |
| Dorothea Dix | known for her efforts to reform psychiatric institutions and improve living conditions for the mentally ill during the 19th century |
| Aaron Beck | known for developing a model of cognitive therapy |
| Albert Ellis | founder of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy |
| Sigmund Freud | father of psychoanalysis |
| Carl Rogers | founder of person-centered (client-centered) therapy |
| Joseph Wolpe | credited with establishing procedure for systematic desensitization |
| anxiolytics | general term for drugs that reduce feelings of anxiety |
| Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | A disorder characterized by pervasive, free-floating anxiety not connected to any one, specific stimulus |
| Specific Phobia | Anxiety disorder characterized by irrational and persistent fear of a particular object or situation, along with a compelling desire to avoid it. |
| Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions). |
| Panic Disorder | characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks |
| Anxiety Disorders | psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety (includes phobias, OCD, GAD, panic disorder, etc.) |
| Manic episode | a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state; occurs in persons with bipolar disorder |
| Dysthymia | a low-grade chronic depression with symptoms that are milder than those of severe depression but are present on a majority of days for 2 or more years |
| Cyclothymic Disorder | a mild bipolar disorder that persists over a long time |
| Residual Schizophrenia | diagnostic category for people who have experienced at least one episode of schizophrenia and who no longer display its major symptoms but still show some bizarre thoughts or social withdrawal |
| Somatization Disorder | A type of somatoform disorder marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin. |
| Personality Disorders | psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning |
| Antisocial Personality Disorder | a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist |
| Borderline Personality Disorder | a personality disorder characterized by lack of stability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotion; impulsivity; angry outbursts; intense fear of abandonment; recurring suicidal gestures |
| Behavioral Therapies | Treatments designed to change behavior through the use of established learning techniques (for example, systematic desensitization, token economies); more concerned with change in behavior than any underlying thoughts |
| aversion conditioning | A method that uses classical conditioning to create a negative response to a particular stimulus (e.g. a client with a paraphilia might be trained to respond negatively to a previously arousing stimulus). Also known as avoidance conditioning. |
| behavior modification | psychotherapy that seeks to extinguish or inhibit abnormal or maladaptive behavior by reinforcing desired behavior and extinguishing undesired behavior (i.e. use of operant conditioning techniques to adjust behavior) |
| modeling | use of observational learning processes to help a client change behavior; the process of observing and imitating a behavior (e.g. a therapist might demonstrate how to introduce oneself to a stranger at a party and have the client repeat/mimic the behavior). |
| Cognitive Therapies | Treatments designed to remove irrational beliefs and negative thoughts that are presumed to be responsible for psychological disorders; includes CBT, REBT |
| stress inoculation | stress management technique in which a person consciously tries to prepare ahead of time for potential stressors |
| Psychodynamic therapies | looks at unconscious conflicts, defense mechanisms and symptom resolution in a broader manner than Freud; often more brief and present-focused than traditional psychoanalysis |
| Humanistic therapies | therapies that emphasize the development of human potential and the belief that human nature is basically positive |
| empty-chair technique | A role-playing intervention often used in Gestalt psychotherapy in which clients play conflicting parts. This typically consists of clients engaging in an imaginary dialogue between different sides of themselves. |
| I-statements | promoted by Gestalt therapists and others, this type of statement illustrates willingness to take responsibility for own feeling and actions by describing our feelings, rather than evaluating others |
| Family & Group Therapies | therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members. Group therapies, in general, emphasize shared experience and mutual support. |
| Biomedical therapies | the use of medications, electroconvulsive therapy, or other medical treatments to treat the symptoms associated with psychological disorders |
| Risperdal | (Risperidone) antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia; Serotonin/Dopamine antagonist |
| Haldol | (Haloperidol) tranquilizer used to treat some psychotic disorders and Tourette's syndrome |
| Thorazine | An antipsychotic drug thought to block receptor sites for dopamine, making it effective in treating the delusional thinking, hallucinations and agitation commonly associated with schizophrenia. |
| Clozaril | Antipsychotic drug; Blocks serotonin activity as well as dopamine. Requires regular blood tests to determine any abnormal changes on white blood cells (thus, less commonly used treatment) |
| antidepressants | drugs that combat depression by affecting the levels or activity of neurotransmitters in the brain (e.g. SSRI's and MAOI's) |
| psychosurgery | brain surgery on human patients intended to relieve severe and otherwise intractable mental or behavioral problems |
| lobotomy | a now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. the procedure cut the nerves that connect the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain |
| medical model | the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital |
| Bio-Psycho-Social Model | contemporary perspective that assumes biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders |
| DSM-IV-TR | current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association (text revision completed in 2000) |
| DSM-5 | version of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders set to be published in 2013; includes changes to many diagnostic categories (e.g. personality disorders) and more emphasis on severity of symptoms in diagnosis |
| Axis I | Portion of diagnosis where the clinician considers whether the client's symptoms meet diagnostic criteria for any major psychiatric disorders (except mental retardation and personality disorders) |
| Axis II | DSM-IV category for personality disorders and mental retardation (longstanding, pervasive conditions that impact expression of illness and type of support and treatment needed) |
| Axis III | any physical disorder or general medical condition that is present in addition to the mental disorder |
| Axis IV | Severity of psychosocial and environmental stressors (e.g. divorce, housing, educational issues) |
| Axis V | DSM-IV category for the rating of patients current functioning. Expressed as Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale: 1= can't function and 100= functioning well |
| McNaughten Rule | a rule determing insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing was wrong |
| sanity/insanity | LEGAL (not psychiatric) determination of whether someone was aware enough of their own actions to be held responsible for their behavior (sane) or not (insane). |
| Mary Cover Jones | "mother of behavior therapy"; used classical conditioning to help "Little Peter" overcome fear of rabbits |
| Fritz Perls | Creator of Gestalt Therapy |
| Paraphilias | Sexual disorders and deviations in which sexual arousal occurs almost exclusively in the context of inappropriate objects or individuals. (e.g. pedophilia) |
| serotonin | neurotransmitter believed to be in short supply for depression-sufferers |
| positive symptoms | Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral excesses or peculiarities, such as hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior, and wild flights of ideas. |
| negative symptoms | Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral deficits, such as flattened emotions, social withdrawal, apathy, impaired attention, and poverty of speech. |
| flat affect | a lack of emotional responsiveness |
| delusions | false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders |
| flight of ideas | symptom of schizophrenia; a confused state in which thoughts and speech go in all directions with no unifying concept |
| clinical psychologist | psychologist who treats people serious psychological problems or conducts research into the causes of behavior; holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology |
| psychiatrist | a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders; can prescribe medication; holds an M.D. and likely has extensive training therapy & treatment |
| dodo bird verdict | refers to the finding of similar efficacy (effectiveness) for widely differing therapies; in Alice in Wonderland, the dodo bird declares "all have won and all must have prizes!" |
| placebo effect | the healing effect that faith in medicine, even inert medicine, often has; may be one of the reasons people overestimate the effectiveness of any particular psychotherapy |
| light exposure therapy | Treats seasonal affective disorder (SAD); scientifically proven to be effective, exposure to daily doses of intense light. Increases activity in the adrenal gland and the superchiasmatic nucleus. |
| regression toward the mean | the tendency for unusual events (or emotions) to return toward their average state; may be one reason many suffering from mental disorders seem to improve with time & that benefits of psychotherapy get overestimated |
| meta-analysis | a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies; used to evaluated effectiveness of psychotherapies |
| agoraphobia | a morbid fear of open spaces (as fear of being caught alone in some public place); often occurs with Panic Disorder (though not always) |