Glossary
American Psychological Association (APA)
The largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, responsible for publishing the DSM-5 and setting ethical guidelines for the profession.
Example:
The APA establishes the ethical standards that therapists must follow, including rules about client confidentiality.
Anxiety Disorders
A group of psychological disorders characterized by excessive and persistent fear, worry, and related behavioral disturbances.
Example:
Feeling constant dread about everyday situations, accompanied by physical symptoms like a racing heart and shortness of breath, is characteristic of an Anxiety Disorder.
Aromatherapy
A historical practice, sometimes associated with humorism, that used scents from plants to restore balance in the body and mind, believed to influence the humors.
Example:
In ancient Greece, certain fragrant herbs might have been used in aromatherapy to calm an agitated person, aiming to rebalance their bodily humors.
Bipolar Disorders
A category of psychological disorders marked by significant mood swings, including both periods of intense depression and episodes of elevated mood or mania.
Example:
A person who cycles between periods of intense energy and sleeplessness, followed by weeks of profound sadness and lethargy, may have a Bipolar Disorder.
Bloodletting
A historical medical practice, based on humorism, that involved draining blood from a patient to correct perceived imbalances in bodily fluids and treat various ailments, including mental illness.
Example:
During the Middle Ages, a physician might have prescribed bloodletting for a patient suffering from mania, believing it would reduce excess 'hot' blood.
Confidentiality laws
Legal principles that protect patient information shared during therapy sessions, ensuring privacy unless specific exceptions, such as danger to self or others, apply.
Example:
A therapist cannot legally share details of a client's session with their family members due to confidentiality laws, unless the client gives explicit permission or poses a serious threat.
Depressive Disorders
A category of psychological disorders characterized by persistent and extreme sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, and other symptoms that affect daily functioning.
Example:
Someone experiencing profound sadness, fatigue, and an inability to enjoy hobbies they once loved might be diagnosed with a Depressive Disorder.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)
The official manual published by the American Psychological Association that provides detailed criteria for diagnosing mental disorders, ensuring consistency and reliability in clinical diagnosis.
Example:
A psychologist uses the DSM-5 to confirm if a patient's symptoms align with the diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder.
Disorder
A psychological condition that significantly interferes with a person's daily life, affecting cognition, emotion, or behavior in a maladaptive way.
Example:
When excessive worry prevents someone from leaving their house or holding a job, it indicates an anxiety disorder.
Dissociative Disorders
A category of disorders characterized by disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or perception, often as a coping mechanism for trauma.
Example:
A person who experiences significant gaps in their memory about personal information or past events, beyond ordinary forgetting, could be experiencing a Dissociative Disorder.
Eating Disorders
A category of psychological disorders characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions, often involving an unhealthy preoccupation with body weight or shape.
Example:
A teenager who severely restricts their food intake, exercises excessively, and has an intense fear of gaining weight, despite being underweight, may have an Eating Disorder.
Humorism
An ancient medical theory, central to somatogenic etiology, that proposed that health and temperament were determined by the balance of four bodily fluids: blood, black bile, phlegm, and yellow bile.
Example:
According to Humorism, an individual prone to anger might have been thought to have an excess of yellow bile.
Insanity plea / Insanity defense
A legal strategy where a defendant claims they are not responsible for their criminal actions due to a severe mental disease or defect at the time of the offense.
Example:
In a high-profile court case, the defense attorney might argue for an insanity plea, claiming the defendant was experiencing a severe psychotic episode and could not distinguish right from wrong.
Maladaptive
Refers to behaviors or thoughts that are disruptive rather than helpful, hindering a person's ability to function effectively in daily life.
Example:
Constantly washing hands until they bleed, despite knowing it's unnecessary, is a maladaptive compulsion that disrupts daily activities.
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
A category of disorders involving recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform (compulsions).
Example:
Someone who repeatedly checks if the door is locked exactly five times before leaving the house, despite knowing it's secure, is exhibiting symptoms of an Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder.
Psychogenic Etiology
The modern view that mental illness originates from psychological factors, such as trauma, stress, learned behaviors, or cognitive distortions, rather than physical or supernatural causes.
Example:
A therapist exploring a patient's childhood experiences and current thought patterns to understand their anxiety is operating under the principle of Psychogenic Etiology.
Somatic Disorders
A group of disorders in which individuals experience significant physical symptoms without a clear medical explanation, often accompanied by excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to these symptoms.
Example:
Someone who frequently experiences severe stomach pain and nausea, despite extensive medical tests showing no physical cause, might be diagnosed with a Somatic Disorder.
Somatogenic Etiology
A historical perspective, proposed by figures like Hippocrates, that viewed mental illness as having physiological or bodily causes, such as imbalances in bodily fluids.
Example:
The belief that melancholia was caused by an excess of black bile in the body is an example of Somatogenic Etiology.
Supernatural Etiology
A historical perspective that attributed mental illness to supernatural forces, such as demonic possession, divine punishment, or astrological influences.
Example:
In ancient times, a person experiencing seizures might have been believed to be possessed by evil spirits, reflecting a Supernatural Etiology.
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
A group of disorders that develop in response to exposure to a traumatic or stressful event, leading to symptoms like intrusive thoughts, avoidance, and altered arousal.
Example:
A veteran experiencing flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance after combat might be diagnosed with a Trauma and Stressor Related Disorder.
Trephination
An ancient surgical procedure involving drilling holes into the skull, believed to release evil spirits or relieve pressure in the brain.
Example:
Archeological findings of skulls with small, circular holes suggest that trephination was practiced by early civilizations to treat perceived mental ailments.