Therapy
Treatment methods aimed at making people feel better and function more effectively.
Psychotherapy
Therapy for mental disorders in which a person with a problem talks with a psychological professional.
Biomedical therapy
Therapy for mental disorders in which a person with a problem is treated with biological or medical methods to relieve symptoms.
Insight therapies
Therapies in which the main goal is helping people to gain insight with respect to their behavior, thoughts, and feelings.
Action therapy
Therapy in which the main foal is to change disordered or inappropriate behavior directly.
Psychoanalysis
An insight therapy based on the theory of Freud, emphasizing the revealing of unconscious conflicts.
Manifest content
The actual content of one's dream
Latent content
The symbolic or hidden meaning of dreams.
Free association
Psychoanalytic technique in which a patient was encouraged to talk about anything that came to mind without fear of negative evaluations.
Resistance
Occurring when a patient becomes reluctant to talk about a certain topic, by either changing the subject or becoming silent.
Transference
In psychoanalysis, the tendency for a patient or client to project positive or negative feelings for important people from the past onto the therapist.
Directive
Therapy in which the therapist actively gives interpretations of a client's statements and may suggest certain behavior or actions.
Psychodynamic therapy
A newer and more general term for therapies based on psychoanalysis with an emphasis on transference, shorter treatment times, and a more direct therapeutic approach.
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
Form of therapy for depression which incorporates multiple approaches and focuses on interpersonal problems.
Eclectic
Approach to therapy that results from combining elements of several different approaches or techniques.
Nondirective
Therapy style in which the therapist remains relatively neutral and does not interpret or take direct actions with regard to the client, instead remaining a calm, nonjudgmental listener while the client talks.
Person-centered therapy
A nondirective insight therapy based on the work of Carl Rogers in which the client does all the talking and the therapist listens.
Reflection
Therapy technique in which the therapist restates what the client says rather than interpreting those statements.
Unconditional positive regard
Referring to the warmth, respect, and accepting atmosphere created by the therapist for the client in person-centered therapy.
Empathy
The ability to the therapist to understand the feelings of the client.
Authenticity
The genuine, open, and honest response of the therapist to the client.
Gestalt therapy
Form of directive insight therapy in which the therapist helps clients to accept all parts of their feelings and subjective experiences, using leading questions and planned experiences such as role-playing.
Behavior therapies
Action therapies based on the principles of classical and operant conditioning and aimed at changing disordered behavior without concern for the original causes of such behavior.
Behavior modification (or applied behavior analysis)
The use of learning techniques to modify or change undesirable behavior and increase desirable behavior.
Systematic desensitization
Behavior technique used to treat phobias, in which a client is asked to make a list of ordered fears and taught to relax while concentrating on those fears.
Aversion therapy
Form of behavioral therapy in which an undesirable behavior is paired with an aversive stimulus to reduce the frequency of the behavior.
Exposure therapies
Behavioral techniques that expose individuals to anxiety- or fear-related stimuli, under carefully controlled conditions, to promote new learning.
Flooding
Technique for treating phobias and other stress disorders in which the person is rapidly and intensely exposed to the fear-provoking situation or object and prevented from making the usual avoidance or escape response.
Modeling
Learning through the observation and imitation of others.
Participant modeling
Technique in which a model demonstrates the desired behavior in a step-by-step, gradual process while the client is encouraged to imitate the model.
Reinforcement
The strengthening of a response by following it with a pleasurable consequence or the removal of an unpleasant stimulus.
Token economy
The use of objects called tokens to reinforce behavior in which the tokens can be accumulated and exchanged for desired items or privileges.
Contingency contract
A formal, written agreement between the therapist and client (or teacher and student) in which goals for behavioral change, reinforcements, and penalties are clearly stated.
Extinction
The removal of a reinforcer to reduce the frequency of a behavior.
Time-out
An extinction process in which a person is removed from the situation that provides reinforcement for undesirable behavior, usually by being placed in a quiet corner or room away from possible attention and reinforcement opportunities.
Cognitive therapy
Therapy in which the focus is on helping clients recognize distortions in their thinking and replace distorted, unrealistic beliefs with more realistic, helpful thoughts.
Arbitrary inference
Distortion of thinking in which a person draws a conclusion that is not based on any evidence.
Selective thinking
Distortion of thinking in which a person focuses on only one aspect of a situation while ignoring all other relevant aspects.
Overgeneralization
Distortion of thinking in which a person draws sweeping conclusions based on only one incident or event and applies those conclusions to events that are unrelated to the original.
Magnification and minimization
Distortions of thinking in which a person blows a negative event out of proportion to its importance (magnification) while ignoring relevant positive events (minimization).
Personalization
Distortion of thinking in which a person takes responsibility or blame for events that are unconnected to the person.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Action therapy in which the goal is to help clients overcome problems by learning to think more rationally and logically.
Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy in which clients are directly challenged in their irrational beliefs and helped to restructure their thinking into more rational belief statements.
Family counseling (family therapy)
A form of group therapy in which family members meet together with a counselor or therapist to resolve problems that affect the entire family.
Self-help groups (support groups)
A group composed of people who have similar problems and who meet together without a therapist or counselor for the purpose of discussion, problem solving, and social and emotional support.
Therapeutic alliance
The relationship between therapist and client that develops as a warm, caring, accepting relationship characterized by empathy, mutual respect, and understanding.
Cybertherapy
Psychotherapy that is offered on the Internet. Also online, Internet, or Web therapy or counseling.
Biomedical therapies
Therapies that directly affect the biological functioning of the body and brain.
Psychopharmacology
The use of drugs to control or relieve the symptoms of psychological disorders.
Antipsychotic drugs
Drugs used to treat psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and other bizarre behavior
Antianxiety drugs
Drugs used to treat and calm anxiety reactions, typically manor tranquilizers.
Antidepressant drugs
Drugs used to treat depression and anxiety.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Form of biomedical therapy to treat severe depression in which electrodes are placed on either one or both sides of a person's head and an electric current is passed through the electrodes that is strong enough to cause a seizure or convulsion.
Psychosurgery
Surgery performed on brain tissue to relieve or control severe psychological disorders.
Prefrontal lobotomy
Psychosurgery in which the connections of the prefrontal lobes of the brain to the rear portions are severed.
Bilateral anterior cingulotomy
Psychosurgical technique in which an electrode wire is inserted into the anterior cingulate gyrus with the guidance of a magnetic resonance imaging machine for the purpose of destroying that area of brain tissue with an electric current.