Chapter 16 Psychological and Biological Treatments

Vocabulary

psychotheraphy

psychological intervention designed to help people resolve emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems and improve the quality of their lives

paraprofessional

person with no professional training who provides mental health services

insight therapies

psychotherapies, including psychodynamic, humanistic, existential, and group approaches, with the goal of expanding awareness or insight

humanistic therapies

therapies that emphasize the development of human potential and the belief that human nature is basically positive

free association

technique in which clients express themselves without censorship of any sort

resistance

attempts to avoid confrontation and anxiety associated with uncovering previously repressed thoughts, emotions, and impulses

transference

act of projecting intense, unrealistic feelings and expectations from the past onto the therapist

interpersonal therapy (IPT)

treatment that strengthens social skills and targets interpersonal problems, conflicts, and life transitions

person-centered therapy

nondirective therapy centering on the client’s goals and ways of solving problems

Gestalt therapy

therapy that aims to integrate different and sometimes opposing aspects of personality into a unified sense of self

group therapy

therapy that treats more than one person at a time

Alcoholics Anonymous

twelve-step self-help program that provides social support for achieving sobriety

strategic family intervention

family therapy approach designed to remove barriers to effective communication

structural family therapy

treatment in which therapists deeply involve themselves in family activities to change how family members arrange and organize interactions

behavior therapist

therapist who focuses on specific problem behaviors and current variables that maintain problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

ecological mementary

assessment of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that arise in the moment in situations in which they occur in everyday life

systematic desensitization

clients are taught to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear in a stepwise manner

exposure therapy

therapy that confronts clients with what they fear with the goal of reducing the fear

dismantling

research procedure for examining the effectiveness of isolated components of a larger treatment

response prevention

technique in which therapists prevent clients from performing their typical avoidance behaviors

participant modeling

technique in which the therapist first models a problematic situation and then guides the client through steps to cope with it unassisted

token economy

method in which desirable behaviors are rewarded with tokens that clients can exchange for tangible rewards

aversion therapy

treatment that uses punishment to decrease the frequency of undesirable behaviors

cognitive-behavioral therapy

treatment that attempts to replace irrational cognitions and maladaptive behaviors with more rational cognitions and adaptive behaviors

meta-analysis

statistical method that helps researchers interpret large bodies of psychological literature

empirically supported treatment (EST)

intervention for specific disorders supported by high-quality scientific evidence

psychopharmacotherapy

use of medications to treat psychological problems

personalized medicine

medical practice that customizes interventions to maximize success in treating patients with specific psychological or medical disorders and conditions

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

treatment for serious psychological problems in which patients receive brief electrical pulses to the brain that produce a seizure

psychosurgery

brain surgery to treat psychological problems