AP PSYCH mental health/therapy

Psychological disorder

A syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.

medical model

The concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in some cases, cured.

diathesis-stress model

The view that people may be genetically predisposed to a disorder, but actual development depends on interaction with stress or trauma.

epigenetics

The study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change.

DSM-5-TR

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision; used to classify and diagnose disorders.

anxiety disorders

Disorders in which distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors reduce anxiety.

social anxiety disorder

An intense fear of social situations in which a person may be scrutinized, embarrassed, or judged by others.

generalized anxiety disorder

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

panic disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.

agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations in which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms occur.

specific phobia

An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

Hoarding disorder

A disorder in which a person has persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of value, resulting in clutter and distress.

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

trauma and stressor related disorders

Disorders that occur after exposure to a traumatic or stressful event and involve significant distress or dysfunction.

depressive disorders

Disorders in which sadness or despondency is prolonged, disruptive, and often irrational.

bipolar disorders

Disorders in which a person alternates between hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

major depressive disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.

persistent depressive disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences a mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least two years.

bipolar I disorder

A mood disorder marked by at least one manic episode, often alternating with depressive episodes.

mania

A hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common.

bipolar II disorder

A mood disorder marked by a history of major depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes, but not full mania.

rumination

Compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes.

schizophrenia spectrum disorders

A group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

psychotic disorders

Disorders involving a loss of contact with reality, often including delusions or hallucinations.

delusion

A false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

chronic schizophrenia

Schizophrenia that develops gradually, persists over time, and is often associated with negative symptoms and poorer recovery.

acute schizophrenia

Schizophrenia that develops rapidly, often in response to stress, and is more likely to have recovery with treatment.

dissociative disorder

A disorder in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities.

dissociative amnesia

A dissociative disorder characterized by memory loss for important personal information, often following trauma or stress.

personality disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members.

feeding and eating disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by disturbed eating behavior and related thoughts and emotions.

anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight and may see themselves as overweight.

bulimia disorder

An eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating with purging, fasting, or excessive exercise.

neurodevelopmental disorders

Disorders that begin in childhood and affect development of behavior, communication, learning, or attention.

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction, and by restricted, repetitive behaviors or interests.

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty sustaining attention, impulsive behavior, and often excessive activity.

deinstitutionalization

The policy of replacing long-term psychiatric hospitalization with community-based mental health treatment.

psychotherapy

An emotionally charged, confiding interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties.

biomedical therapy

Prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the patient's physiology.

eclectic approach

An approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy.

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

resistance

In psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material.

interpretation

In psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors to promote insight.

transference

In psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships, such as love or hatred for a parent.

psychodynamic therapy

Therapy deriving from psychoanalysis that aims to bring repressed or unconscious material into conscious awareness.

insight therapies

Therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing awareness of underlying motives and defenses.

person centered therapies

Humanistic therapies developed by Carl Rogers in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment.

active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies the speaker's statements.

unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude that Carl Rogers believed helps clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

behavior therapy

Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors.

counterconditioning

A behavior therapy procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors.

exposure therapies

Behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear and avoid.

systematic desensitization

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli.

virtual reality exposure therapy

An anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears.

aversive conditioning

A type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior.

token economy

A behavior modification system in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges or treats.

cognitive therapy

Therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and emotional reactions.

rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

A confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges irrational beliefs.

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

A therapy that integrates cognitive therapy and behavior therapy and aims to change both self-defeating thinking and behavior.

group therapy

Therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, often to improve social functioning and provide support.

family therapy

Therapy that treats the family as a system and views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members.

confirmation bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

meta-analysis

A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.

evidence based practice

Clinical decision-making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics.

therapeutic alliance

A bond of trust and mutual understanding between therapist and client that supports effective treatment.

psychopharmacology

The study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior.

antipsychotic drugs

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder by blocking dopamine receptors.

antianxiety drugs

Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation, often by depressing central nervous system activity.

antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depression and some anxiety disorders, usually by increasing the availability of neurotransmitters such as serotonin or norepinephrine.

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.

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

A procedure that uses repeated magnetic pulses to stimulate specific brain regions, often used for depression.

psychosurgery

Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior.

lobotomy

A now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients by cutting nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.

hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur. - relaxation to occur

dissociation

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

posthypnotic suggestion

A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control unwanted symptoms and behaviors.

post traumatic growth

Positive psychological changes that may emerge as a person struggles with and adapts to highly challenging life circumstances.