Mental Health & Addiction - Vocabulary Flashcards (Lecture Notes)

Key vocabulary terms and concise definitions covering mental health, continuum, history, theories, therapies, addictions, epidemiology, and nursing practice from the provided notes.

Mental Health

Recognize own potential, cope with stress, productive, contribute to society, rational thought, appropriate communication, able to learn, grow emotionally, healthy self-esteem, and resilience.

mental illness

all mental disorders with definable diagnoses

Resilience

Ability to acquire resources needed to support well‑being, sense of hope, optimism, sense of mastery, competence; essential to recovery.

attributes of mental health

• be able to play and laugh

• accurately appraise reality

• able to love and experience joy

• deal w conflicting emotions

• live without undue fear, guilt, anxiety

• accountability, control over oneself

• think clearly and relate to others

• be able to work and be productive

mental health continuum

• healthy (normal functioning)

• reacting (common and reversible distress)

• above 2 are when people need self care and social support

• injured (significant functional impairment)

• ill (clinical disorder, severe and persistent functional impairment)

• above 2 are when they need professional self care and support

Self-concept

Healthy sense of self; part of the attributes of mental health.

Interpersonal relationships

Form close, loving, adaptive relationships; experience empathy toward others; manage interpersonal conflict constructively.

Normal Functioning

Normal mood functions; takes things in stride; consistent performance; normal sleep; active socially; usual self-confidence; comfortable with others.

Ill (Clinical Disorder)

Clinical disorder, severe and persistent functional impairment with disturbances in thinking, mood, or behavior.

Asylum care

Historical emphasis on containment and control of the mentally ill.

Moral treatment

Era of more humane, structured environments in mental health care.

Psychiatric nursing

Nursing in mental health; began in the late 19th century within asylums; evolved from custodial care to advanced practice.

RPN

Registered Psychiatric Nurse designation that emerged in Western provinces.

APN

Advanced Practice Nurse; expanded roles (assessment, consultation, crisis management, therapy) in mental health.

CNA certification

Certification for RNs in psychiatric mental health nursing (since 1995).

Stigma

Negative attitudes toward mental illness that reinforce discrimination.

common barrieres to mental health help

• concerns about stigma, confidentiality, personal privacy

• limited coverage under public health plans

• extended wait times for publicly funded services

• lack of awareness about where or how to access appropriate support

• perceived ineffectiveness of available resources

DSM-5

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. mostly what is used in North America. A very western perspective, developed by old white men

ICD-11

International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition. Widely used outside of North America

Diagnosis (Mental Disorder)

Definable disorder with significant dysfunction in mental functioning; criteria guided by DSM-5/ICD-11; culturally defined.

Diathesis

Biological predisposition or trauma.

Stress

Environmental stressors.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Combination of diathesis and stress; nature plus nurture; widely accepted explanation for mental illness.

• combination of negative environmental factors and genetic vulnerability

Epidemiology

Study of patterns of risk and resilience factors; identification of high-risk groups; incidence and prevalence.

quantitative study of distribution of mental disorders in human populations

Incidence

Rate of new cases in a population.

Prevalence

Proportion of total new and existing cases in a population at a given time.

Clinical Epidemiology

Study of individuals with specific disorders: natural history, diagnostic tests, interventions; describes frequency of disorders.

addresses what happens after people w illnesses are seen by care providers

Psychoanalytic theory

Freud; concepts of id, ego, superego; psychosexual stages; transference and countertransference.

freud’s levels of awareness

• conscious - tip of iceberg - everything that you’re aware of

• preconscious - just below the surface - easily retrieved material

• unconscious - repressed memories, passions, unacceptable urges deep below surface. memories and emotions associated w trauma

id, ego, superego

• id - source of all drives, wishes, needs, instincts, reflexes. cannot tolerate frustration, can’t problem solve, just wants to go back to being comfortable

• ego - problem solver, more logical. developed because needs, wishes of id can’t be met through reflex and instinct. reality testing

• superego - moral aspects of personality. represents ideals, not what is real. perfection.

defence mechanisms

• ego develops these to ward off anxiety by preventing conscious awareness of threatening feelings

• deny, falsify, distort reality

• operate on unconscious level

transference

• when patient experiences feelings toward nurse or therapist that are originally held toward significant others

• feelings become available for exploration, lead to better understanding

counter-transference

• health care worker’s unconscious personal response to patient

• ex if a patient reminds you of someone you don’t like, you might unconsciously react differently

• important to maintain self-awareness

Erikson’s psychosocial development

• Eight stages of development (e.g., trust vs. mistrust, identity vs. role confusion) across the lifespan.

• stage of development centred around a psychosocial crisis, and the ability to master the crisis will influence personality and the development of the next stage

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Basic needs must be met before higher needs; progression toward self-actualization.

• physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem, self-actualization, self transcendence

Sullivan (Interpersonal Theory)

• Needs are met through interpersonal interactions.

• personality is behaviour that can be viewed through interpersonal relationships

• purpose of all behaviour is to get needs met through interpersonal interactions, decrease or avoid anxiety

Peplau (Interpersonal Relationships in Nursing)

• Art and science of nursing; care, advocacy; comfort and growth through relational nursing.

• shifting the theory from what nurses do TO patients to what nurses do WITH patients — emphasis on the interpersonal relationship between patient and nurse

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

• Tests distorted beliefs and changes thinking patterns; Beck’s influence.

• based on idea that how people feel and behave is determined by how they think about the world and their place in it. those thoughts are based on attitudes developed from past experiences

cognitive distortions

• aka automatic thoughts - rapid, unthinking responses based on schemata. particularly intense and frequent in psychiatric disorders like depressions and anxiety

• often irrational and lead to false assumptions

• examples include all or nothing thinking, overgeneralization, emotional reasoning

REBT (Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy)

• Ellis’ approach focusing on challenging irrational beliefs. - eradicating core irrational belief by realizing that those thoughts aren’t actually reasonable or accurate. “oughts, shoulds, musts”

DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)

Combines cognitive and behavioural techniques with mindfulness. teaching people methods to deal with emotions and challenging situations, teaching them to identify thoughts and beliefs that make life harder so that you can learn a different way of thinking

Pavlov (Classical Conditioning)

Learning by association between stimuli. pairing a neutral stimulus with another stimulus, until the presence of the neutral stimulus is enough to elicit a response

Watson (Behaviorism)

Study of observable behaviour; behaviour influenced by environment. personality traits and responses are socially learned through classical conditioning

Skinner (Operant Conditioning)

Learning voluntary behaviours through reinforcement and punishment

behavioural therapy

based on assumption that changes in maladaptive behaviour can happen w/o insight into underlying cause

modelling

therapist provides role model for specific behaviours and the patients learns through imitation

Systematic Desensitization

A gradual exposure technique to reduce anxiety.

aversion therapy

• similar to punishment - used to treat things like alcoholism, sexual deviation, shoplifting, violent and aggressive behaviours, self-mutilation

• pairing maladaptive behaviour w noxious stimulus - shock therapy - so that once pleasurable stimulus from bad behaviour is associated with bad simulus

• punishment

• avoidance training

biofeedback

form of behavioural therapy that gets info on body functions so you can control body’s physiological response to stress and anxiety

Addictions - Genetic/Biological

Genetic predisposition; biological factors influence addiction and tolerance.

Addictions - Psychodynamic

Addiction as self-medication; coping with underlying psychological issues.

Addictions - Moral Model

Substance use viewed as a sign of weak character or sin.

Addictions - Environmental/Social Learning

Stress, peer pressure, observational learning, advertising, social norms shape use.

Biopsychosocial model

Holistic approach addressing biological, psychological, and social factors.

Nursing Process (Mental Health)

Holistic assessment and care guided by bio/psycho/social/spiritual domains.

Documentation

7th step in nursing process; includes changes in condition, informed consent, reactions, symptoms, safety, reporting, incidents.

Mental Status Examination

Structured assessment of appearance, behavior, cognition, mood, and thinking.