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Psychological disorder

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

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Medical model

The concept that diseases, including psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured through hospital treatment.

DSM-5

The American Psychiatric Association’s classification system for psychological disorders.

Anxiety disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

A 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 episodes of intense dread accompanied by physical symptoms like chest pain or choking.

Phobia

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

Social anxiety disorder

An intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable during a panic attack.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, and social withdrawal after a traumatic experience.

Posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes resulting from struggling with challenging life circumstances.

Mood disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.

Major depressive disorder

A mood disorder marked by two or more weeks of depressed mood, diminished interest, and other symptoms.

Mania

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

Bipolar disorder

A mood disorder in which a person alternates between depression and mania.

Rumination

Compulsive overthinking about problems and their causes.

Schizophrenia

A disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished emotional expression.

Psychosis

A psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions.

Delusions

False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that accompany psychotic disorders.

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as hearing voices that do not exist.

Somatic symptom disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences bodily symptoms without a physical cause.

Conversion disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences specific physical symptoms with no physiological basis.

Illness anxiety disorder

A disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a serious disease.

Dissociative disorders

Disorders in which a person experiences disruptions in conscious awareness and identity.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

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

Anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight.

Bulimia nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging (vomiting, excessive exercise, or fasting).

Binge-eating disorder

An eating disorder marked by binge eating episodes followed by guilt, distress, or disgust.

Personality disorders

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 family or friends.

Psychotherapy

Treatment involving psychological techniques to help someone overcome difficulties or achieve personal growth.

Biomedical therapy

Treatment involving medication or medical procedures that affect the nervous system.

Eclectic approach

A method of therapy that combines techniques from various schools of psychology.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s therapeutic technique that aims to bring repressed thoughts into consciousness.

Resistance

In psychoanalysis, blocking anxiety-inducing thoughts from consciousness.

Interpretation

In psychoanalysis, the analyst’s explanation of dream meanings, resistances, and other behaviors.

Transference

In psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer of emotions linked with other relationships onto the therapist.

Psychodynamic therapy

Therapy derived from psychoanalysis but with a focus on unconscious forces and childhood experiences.

Insight therapies

A category of therapies that improve psychological functioning by increasing self-awareness.

Client-centered therapy

Rogers’ humanistic therapy, which uses active listening and an accepting environment to facilitate growth.

Active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies.

Unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude that Rogers believed would foster self-acceptance.

Behavior therapy

Therapy that applies learning principles to eliminate unwanted behaviors.

Counterconditioning

A therapy that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors.

Exposure therapies

Behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people to what they fear.

Systematic desensitization

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

Virtual reality exposure therapy

A treatment that progressively exposes people to simulations of their fears.

Aversive conditioning

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

Token economy

An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn tokens for desired behaviors that can later be exchanged for rewards.

Cognitive therapy

Therapy that teaches new, adaptive ways of thinking.

Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

Ellis’ confrontational therapy that challenges irrational thoughts.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

A therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing thoughts) with behavior therapy (changing actions).

Group therapy

Therapy conducted with groups, rather than individuals, to provide social support.

Family therapy

Therapy that treats the family as a system and helps improve relationships.

Regression toward the mean

The tendency for extreme scores to return to average over time.

Meta-analysis

A statistical procedure for combining results of different studies.

Evidence-based practice

Clinical decision-making based on research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences.

Therapeutic alliance

A bond of trust between therapist and client that helps in successful therapy.

Resilience

The ability to cope with stress and recover from adversity.

Psychopharmacology

The study of drug effects on mind and behavior.

Antipsychotic drugs

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and severe thought disorders.

Antianxiety drugs

Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation.

Antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

A treatment for severely depressed patients involving electrical brain stimulation.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

A treatment involving repeated magnetic pulses to the brain.

Psychosurgery

Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to alter behavior.

Lobotomy

A now-rare psychosurgical procedure that cut nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion centers.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist; developed client-centered therapy.

Mary Cover Jones

Pioneer in exposure therapy.

Joseph Wolpe

Developed systematic desensitization.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist known for operant conditioning.

Albert Ellis

Developed Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

Aaron Beck

Developed cognitive therapy, particularly for depression.