Untitled Flashcards Set

Mental Health Treatment Terms

General Concepts

• Deinstitutionalization
  The movement to release people with mental illnesses from hospitals into community-based care.
  
  

• Psychotherapy
  Talk-based treatment where a trained therapist helps someone understand and manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
  
  

• Biomedical Therapy
  Treatment that uses medication or medical procedures to change brain function and treat psychological disorders.
  

Psychoanalytic & Insight Therapies

• Psychoanalysis
  Freud’s therapy method that explores unconscious thoughts, often through free association and dream analysis.
  
  

• Resistance
  When a patient avoids talking about painful or troubling topics, possibly revealing hidden conflicts.
  
  

• Interpretation
  The therapist's explanation of the patient’s thoughts or behaviors to uncover deeper meanings.
  
  

• Transference
  When a patient transfers feelings about someone else (like a parent) onto the therapist.
  
  

• Insight Therapies
  Therapies that aim to increase a person's understanding of their thoughts and feelings.
  
  

• Person-Centered Therapy
  A humanistic therapy by Carl Rogers where the therapist offers support without judgment to help the client grow.
  
  

• Active Listening
  Listening carefully, restating, and clarifying what the client says to show understanding and empathy.
  
  

• Unconditional Positive Regard
  Accepting and valuing someone without judgment, no matter what they say or do.
  

Behavioral Therapies

• Behavior Therapy
  Uses learning principles to change unwanted behaviors without focusing on thoughts or emotions.
  
  

• Counterconditioning
  A technique that pairs a trigger for bad behavior with a new, relaxing response.
  
  

• Exposure Therapies
  Gradually expose people to what they fear to help them get over it.
  
  

• Systematic Desensitization
  Step-by-step exposure to a feared object or situation while staying calm.
  
  

• Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
  Using computer simulations to safely expose people to their fears.
  
  

• Aversive Conditioning
  Pairs unwanted behavior with something unpleasant to reduce that behavior.
  
  

• Token Economy
  A reward system where people earn tokens for good behavior and exchange them for privileges or items.
  

Cognitive and Group Therapies

• Cognitive Therapy
  Helps people change negative or irrational thoughts to improve their mood or behavior.
  
  

• Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
  A therapy that challenges irrational beliefs to help people think more logically.
  
  

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  Combines thinking and behavior strategies to help people change how they feel and act.
  
  

• Group Therapy
  A therapy where people meet together with a therapist to share and support each other.
  
  

• Family Therapy
  Treats the family as a system, focusing on relationships and communication to improve overall family health.
  

Evaluation & Evidence

• Confirmation Bias
  The tendency to look for information that supports what we already believe.
  
  

• Meta-Analysis
  A study that combines results from many different studies to see overall trends.
  
  

• Evidence-Based Practice
  Using research, therapist expertise, and patient needs to choose the best treatment.
  
  

• Therapeutic Alliance
  The trusting relationship between a therapist and client that helps therapy succeed.
  

Biomedical Treatments

• Psychopharmacology
  The study of how drugs affect the brain and behavior.
  
  

• Antipsychotic Drugs
  Medications that reduce symptoms of disorders like schizophrenia (e.g., hallucinations).
  
  

• Antianxiety Drugs
  Drugs that help reduce fear and anxiety.
  
  

• Antidepressant Drugs
  Medications that improve mood, often by affecting neurotransmitters like serotonin.
  
  

• Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
  A treatment where electric currents are passed through the brain to relieve severe depression.
  
  

• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
  A non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to stimulate brain areas linked to depression.
  
  

• Psychosurgery
  Surgery on the brain to treat severe mental illness (rare today).
  
  

• Lobotomy
  A once-common psychosurgery that cut connections in the brain's frontal lobe, often causing severe side effects.
  

Other Key Concepts

• Hypnosis
  A state of focused attention and increased suggestibility that can help some people with pain or anxiety.
  
  

• Dissociation
  A mental state where a person feels disconnected from their thoughts, identity, or surroundings.