Untitled Flashcards Set

Theoretical orientation: A therapist’s belief system about the cause and
nature of psychological distress and the appropriate treatment, which influences
the therapist’s choice of techniques and treatment goals.
 Dream interpretation: A psychodynamic therapy technique that analyzes the
meaning of symbols from dreams to help access the unconscious.
 Free association: A psychodynamic therapy technique in which the patient is
instructed to “think out loud” to help access the unconscious.
 Transference: A term from psychodynamic therapy to describe when feelings
directed at one person become redirected to another person, often the therapist.
 Self-actualization: A term from humanistic therapy that refers to an
individual’s ability to live up to his or her full human potential.

 Client-centered therapy: The most popular humanistic therapy, which views
patients as “clients” and focuses on authenticity and healthy self-concept; created
by Carl Rogers.
 Unconditional positive regard: A client-centered technique in which the
therapist communicates positive feelings and acceptance to the client, regardless
of what the client says or does.
 Active listening: A client-centered technique in which the therapist verbally
and non-verbally communicates interest in what the client is saying in order to
encourage openness.
 Gestalt therapy: A humanistic therapy that maintains that psychological
distress occurs when patients focus on what could be, rather than on the present
moment; developed by Fritz Perls.
 Existential therapy: A humanistic therapy based on the theory that
psychological distress occurs when life lacks meaning; popularized by Irving
Yalom.
 Learned helplessness: A phenomenon described by behaviorists in which an
individual, frustrated by failed attempts to escape an adverse situation, gives up
all efforts to escape it.
 Applied behavioral analysis (ABA): A behavioral therapy technique used to
identify factors in the environment that are reinforcing or punishing certain
behaviors.
 Token economies: A technique used in behavioral therapy to reinforce positive
behaviors with tokens, which can be exchanged for other rewards.
 Systematic desensitization: A behavioral therapy used to treat phobias by
gradually associating feared stimuli with relaxing stimuli; created by Joseph
Wolpe.
 Aversion therapy: A behavioral therapy used to decrease the frequency of a
habitual behavior by pairing it with an aversive stimulus.
 Rational-emotive behavior therapy: A cognitive therapy that focuses on the
rational analysis of thought; created by Albert Ellis.
 Cognitive distortions: Automatic and irrational perceptions of the world that
contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression.
 Core belief: A deeply held belief that guides an individual’s thoughts.
 Thought log: A type of homework in cognitive therapy in which the patient
writes down his or her automatic thoughts throughout the day.
 Socratic questioning: A cognitive therapy technique that helps patients
identify cognitive distortions and core beliefs by asking critical questions.
 Cognitive restructuring: A cognitive therapy technique that requires patients
to challenge irrational beliefs and replace them with more realistic ones.
 Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): A popular evidence based treatment
that combines both cognitive and behavioral techniques to identify solutions for
patients’ concerns; created by Aaron Beck.
 Third wave therapies: A collection of recent cognitive therapies that focus on
values and techniques like mindfulness to manage psychological distress.
 Mindfulness: Strategies to cultivate a state of conscious awareness, often used
in third wave cognitive therapies.

 Psychopharmacology: The most common biomedical treatment, which uses
psychotropic drugs to treat mental illness.
 Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs): One of the earliest psychotropic
medications used to treat depression.
 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): A relatively new class of
psychotropic medications, such as Prozac, used to treat depression and other
mood disorders.
 Benzodiazepines: Common psychotropic medications used to treat anxiety.
 Lithium carbonate: A psychotropic medication used to treat bipolar disorder;
also called lithium salts or lithium.
 Atypical anti-psychotics: A relatively new class of psychotropic medications
used to treat schizophrenia.
 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): A biomedical treatment for depression
that delivers small electric currents to the brain to deliberately cause a seizure.
 Deep brain stimulation: An invasive biomedical treatment that delivers
electric shocks to the brain directly through an implanted electrode; sometimes
used for severe OCD.
 Psychosurgery: A medical technique in which part of the brain is removed or
deliberately damaged.
 Eclectic therapy: A common type of therapy in which the therapist
intentionally draws from a variety of treatment approaches.
 Transtheoretical model: An integrative approach to behavior change in
therapy that focuses on patients’ readiness to make changes in their lives; it can
be applied to any psychotherapy treatment.
 Individual psychotherapy: A format in which a patient and mental health
professional meet one-on-one.
 Group psychotherapy: A format in which multiple patients meet with one or
two therapists at the same time.
 Couples therapy: A format in in which a therapist provides psychological
treatment to romantic partners.
 Family therapy: A format in which a therapist provides psychological
treatment to a family unit.
 Systemic therapy: A commonly used treatment approach in couples and family
therapy that examines how people are influenced by complex family systems.
How Effective is Treatment?
 Meta-analysis study: A type of study that analyzes the results of many studies
at once.
 Evidence based practice (EBP): The effective integration of three
components in psychotherapy: the patient’s specific context, including culture,
preferences, and characteristics; the therapist’s clinical expertise; and the best
research evidence available.
 Evidence based treatments (EBTs): A treatment that research has
demonstrated is effective at reducing psychological distress.

 Randomized control trial: An experiment that randomly assigns participants
to receive either a psychological treatment or a placebo treatment; used to
determine what is an EBT.
 Common factors theory: A theory challenging the assumption that a specific
psychotherapy approach is superior to another, instead focusing on what is
effective across different therapies.
Therapy and Culture
 Culture: A collection of experiences, language, values, attitudes, and beliefs that
are shared by a group in a specific place and time.
 Worldview: Based in culture, this is how an individual interprets and
understands the world.
 Culture-bound syndrome: A psychological disorder that occurs only in a
specific cultural context.
 Eurocentric: A term that describes approaches derived from a European
worldview and value system.
 Multiculturalism: The integration, acceptance, and embrace of cultural
differences.
 Multicultural competence: A therapist’s ability to work with patients from
different cultures; includes awareness, knowledge of cultural context, and the use
of culturally sensitive treatments.
 Social justice therapy: A multiculturally sensitive therapy that recognizes
many patients face structural and institutional challenges that influence their
psychological well being.
 Afrocentric therapy: A multiculturally sensitive therapy that is rooted in
African, rather than Eurocentric, values.
 Prevention: An attempt to reduce the incidence of psychological disorders by
addressing the causes that give rise to them.
 Competence: The ability to navigate appropriate social, emotional, cognitive,
and behavioral tasks at different developmental stages.
 Resilience: The ability to thrive, develop, and succeed despite adverse
circumstances, or the ability to turn a high-risk situation into a positive outcome.
Important Contributors
 Aaron T. Beck: Created the popular cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
 Mary Cover-Jones: One of the first people to apply classical conditioning
techniques to psychological treatment; successfully treated a child’s rabbit phobia
by pairing rabbits with a positive stimulus.

 Dorthea Dix: An advocate for the creation of state institutions to treat people
with mental illness who helped bring moral treatment, a more humane approach
to psychological treatment, to the United States.
 Albert Ellis: An early pioneer of cognitive therapy who created rational-emotive
behavioral therapy.
 Sigmund Freud: The founder of psychoanalytic therapy, the first “talking
cure.”
 Fritz Perls: Creator of Gestalt therapy, a type of humanistic therapy.
 Frederick Phillips: Creator of Afrocentric therapy, a multiculturally sensitive
psychotherapy.
 Carl Rogers: Creator of client-centered therapy, the most popular humanistic
psychotherapy.
 B.F. Skinner: A behaviorist who believed that application of learning principles
could help patients improve their functioning.
 Joseph Wolpe: Created systematic desensitization, now used to treat phobias.
changes in their lives, but some types of treatment are more effective for
particular conditions than others.