Therapies and Therapists – Lecture 12

29 vocabulary flashcards covering regulated mental-health roles, therapeutic approaches, behaviour techniques, and biomedical treatments from Lecture 12.

Clinical Psychologist

Doctorate-level mental health professional who diagnoses disorders, designs treatment plans, and provides therapy; cannot prescribe medication in Canada.

Counselling Psychologist

Psychologist who concentrates on life transitions, emotional support, and less severe mental health issues.

Health Psychologist

Specialist studying how biological, psychological, and social factors influence health and illness.

Psychological Associate

Master’s-level practitioner with additional supervised training who delivers psychological services within an authorized scope.

Psychiatrist

Medical doctor (MD) specializing in psychiatry; can prescribe drugs and employs biological approaches to mental health.

Clinical Social Worker

MSW-qualified professional providing psychotherapy and support for life challenges under regulated standards.

Addictions Counsellor

Trained worker who offers targeted support for substance-use problems; usually cannot diagnose disorders.

Autism Specialist

Professional with specialized training who supports individuals on the autism spectrum through targeted interventions.

Insight Therapies

Category of “talk therapies” aiming to raise clients’ awareness and understanding of psychological difficulties.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s therapy that seeks to uncover unconscious conflicts believed to cause anxiety and symptoms.

Free Association

Psychoanalytic technique where clients verbalize whatever comes to mind to expose unconscious material.

Dream Interpretation

Analysis of dream content to reveal hidden desires or conflicts within the unconscious mind.

Resistance (Therapy)

Client behaviors that impede therapy—e.g., silence or topic changes—signaling anxiety-laden unconscious issues.

Transference

Process in which clients project feelings for significant others onto the therapist, offering insight into past relationships.

Client-Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers’ humanistic approach emphasizing genuineness, empathy, and unconditional positive regard to reduce self-incongruence.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Therapist’s total, non-judgmental acceptance of a client regardless of what is shared.

Empathy (Therapy)

Therapist’s deep, accurate understanding and sharing of a client’s emotional experience.

Active Listening

Therapeutic skill involving attentive responses and paraphrasing to show understanding and clarify client feelings.

Systematic Desensitization

Behaviour therapy that pairs relaxation with gradual exposure to a feared stimulus to extinguish anxiety.

Anxiety Hierarchy

Ordered list of increasingly fear-provoking situations used as steps in desensitization.

Counterconditioning

Replacing an unwanted anxiety response by pairing the feared stimulus with relaxation or calm.

Aversion Therapy

Technique that pairs an unwanted behaviour with an unpleasant stimulus to create an aversive association.

Social Skills Training

Behavioural method using modelling, role-play, and shaping to improve interpersonal competence.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Approach that identifies, challenges, and replaces irrational thoughts while modifying maladaptive behaviours.

Irrational Beliefs

Illogical, self-defeating thoughts targeted for modification in CBT and REBT.

Psychopharmacology

Use of medications to treat psychological disorders by altering brain chemistry.

Anti-Anxiety Drugs

Fast-acting medications that lower physiological arousal; effective short-term but can cause dependence.

Antipsychotic Drugs

Medications that reduce dopamine activity to alleviate hallucinations and delusions, especially in schizophrenia.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Controlled electrical stimulation of the brain used for severe, treatment-resistant depression; modern procedure is safe when properly administered.