Psychiatry Vocabulary Flashcards

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and definitions related to psychiatry, providing essential knowledge for students studying mental health and disorders.

Psychiatrist

A physician (MD) specialized in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.

Psychologist

A nonmedical professional specializing in mental processes and health diseases.

Clinical Psychologist

A specialist who uses psychotherapy and psychological testing to evaluate and treat mental health issues.

Psychotherapy

A treatment for mental disorders involving psychological methods.

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic technique for analyzing and treating the psyche.

Drug Therapy

The use of medications to manage or treat psychiatric disorders.

Anxiety Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by heightened feelings of anxiety and fear.

Amnesia

Loss of memory or the inability to recall information.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder marked by recurrent thoughts and repetitive behaviors.

Phobia

Irrational or disabling fear of a specific object or situation.

Dementia

Gradual loss of intellectual abilities affecting memory, judgment, and personality.

Delirium

A state of mental confusion with disturbances in attention and awareness.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states.

Bipolar Disorder

A mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of mania and depression.

Schizophrenia

A chronic psychotic disorder marked by disturbances in thought processes, perceptions, and emotional responsiveness.

Substance-Related Disorders

Disorders related to the harmful use of psychoactive substances.

Psychopharmacology

The study of the use of medications in treating mental disorders.

Transference

A psychoanalytic phenomenon in which patients project feelings for significant others onto the therapist.

Supportive Psychotherapy

Therapy that offers encouragement and support to patients facing difficult life transitions.

Defense Mechanism

Psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image.

Ego

The central coordinating part of personality mediating between the desires of the id and the demands of reality.

Superego

The moral component of personality that internalizes societal norms and values.

Personality Disorders

Lifelong patterns of behavior that impair social functioning and lead to distress.

anix/o

anxiety

aut/o

self

hallucion/o

hallucination/ wonder of the mind

hypn/o

sleep

iatr/o

medical treatment or physician

ment/o

mental

neur/o

nerves or the nervous system

phil/o

love or affinity for

phren/o

relating to the mind or diaphragm

psych/o

relating to the mind or mental processes

schriz/o

split or divided

somat/o

body

-genetic

produced by

-leptic

to seize hold of

-mania

obsessive preoccupational

-phobia

fear

-phorria

feeling, bearing

-thymia

mind

aereophobia

fear of air/ flying

zoophobia

fear of animals

apiphobia, melissophobia

fear of bees

hematophobia, hemophobia

fear of blood/ bleeding

bibliophobia

fear of books

ailurophobia

fear of cats

necrophbia

fear of death or corpses

gephyrophobia

fear of bridges

nyctophobia, scotophobia

fear of the dark or night

thanatophobia

fear of death or dying

cynophobia

fear of dogs

pharmacophobia

fear of drugs or medications

-a, an

no, not

cata-

down

hypo-

deficentor below normal levels

para-

abnormal