Mental Health Conditions, Therapies, and Terms

Addiction

Addiction is a state of psychological and/or physical dependence on the use of drugs or other substances, such as alcohol, or on activities or behaviors, such as sex, exercise, and gambling. (From APA.org. 2024. https://www.apa.org/topics/substance-use-abuse-addiction. Accessed May 16, 2024.)

Anxiety

Anxiety is persistent worry or fear that interferes with daily activities. It includes generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and specific phobias, impacting mental and physical health.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, affecting focus and behavior and often impacting daily functioning and academic or work performance.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of mania or hypomania and depression. Extreme highs and lows impact energy, activity, sleep, and judgment, often requiring medication and therapy for management.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships and self-image marked by intense emotions and impulsive behavior. Treatment for BPD typically involves a combination of therapy, medication, and support to enhance coping skills and relational stability.

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is persistent discomfort lasting beyond normal healing time, affecting physical, emotional, and social well-being, and sometimes leading to depression, anxiety, and diminished quality of life. It requires an integrated approach for relief and management.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a structured, evidence-based form of talk therapy that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies.

Cognitive Defusion

Cognitive defusion is the process of loosening the grip of thinking on identity, promoting psychological flexibility by creating distance from thoughts and fostering mindful observation.

Conflict

Conflict is disagreements or disputes that arise in personal or professional relationships. Effective management and resolution are crucial for maintaining healthy interactions and emotional well-being.

Couples

Couples are partners in a romantic relationship. Therapy for couples focuses on improving communication, resolving conflicts, and strengthening emotional bonds to enhance relationship satisfaction and longevity.

Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanisms are behaviors that people use to separate themselves from unpleasant events, actions, or thoughts. The idea of defense mechanisms comes from psychoanalytic theory.

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest. It can significantly impact daily functioning and quality of life.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

DBT is an evolved form of cognitive behavioral therapy specifically developed to assist people with severe emotion regulation challenges. This therapy hinges on the concept of dialectics – the idea that two opposing truths can coexist, and that balancing acceptance with change can lead to positive outcomes.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are mental health conditions involving unhealthy eating behaviors, such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating. These disorders often stem from emotional and psychological issues.

Emotion Regulation

Emotion Regulation is the ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences in a healthy manner. It involves recognizing, understanding, and controlling intense emotions effectively.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based approach that champions the transformative potential of emotions and their primary role in human experience, asserting that they're not just byproducts of interactions but central guides to our identity and choices. EFT operates on the conviction that emotions are key to self-understanding, decision-making, and interpersonal interactions.

Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy

ERP is a specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to help people confront and reduce the anxiety associated with obsessions and compulsions, notably in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a distinctive psychotherapeutic approach primarily designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories. Developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR has since garnered significant attention for its ability to treat trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Family Therapy

Also known as Family Systems Therapy, Family Therapy operates on the understanding that individual well-being and behavior are intricately linked to and influenced by the family unit. Instead of isolating a member as the "problem," this therapy views issues in the context of family dynamics, interactions, and structures.

Freudian Approach

Psychoanalysis is a method and treatment approach based on the assumption that much mental activity is unconscious and that understanding people requires interpreting the unconscious meaning underlying behavior through talking freely about personal experiences, including early childhood and dreams. Psychoanalysis is sometimes referred to as the “Freudian approach,” since it was originally developed by Neurologist Sigmund Freud at the beginning of the 20th century.

Grief/Loss

Grief/loss is emotional suffering experienced after losing someone or something significant. Grief therapy helps individuals process their emotions and find ways to cope and heal.

IVA-2 CPT ADHD Testing

The Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA-2 CPT) is software that helps clinicians test and evaluate both visual and auditory attention and response control functioning to evaluate the various factors needed to accurately diagnose ADHD in accordance with DSM-5 guidelines.

Life Transitions

Life Transitions are significant changes in life, such as shifting from home to college, career shifts, divorce, retirement, birth or a child/sibling, or relocation. These transitions can be stressful and require adaptation to new circumstances.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

MBCT offers a rich blend of cognitive strategies and mindfulness practices, equipping people with tools to understand, manage, and transform their emotional landscapes. By fostering present-moment awareness and challenging maladaptive thought patterns, MBCT allows people to navigate life with greater clarity, balance, and resilience.

Mood Disorder

A mood disorder is a mental health condition involving significant disruptions in mood, such as depression or bipolar disorder, impacting emotions, behavior, and daily functioning.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client-centered counseling style that seeks to help people explore and resolve ambivalence (having mixed feelings) about change. It is based on the premise that internal motivation, rather than external pressure, is the key to lasting change. In MI, the therapist asserts that change is natural and works to guide clients toward their own motivations for making positive changes in their life.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that involves unwanted, persistent thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions), leading to significant anxiety and interference with daily activities.

Panic Attack

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating, and shortness of breath. Panic attacks can be debilitating and unpredictable.

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent panic attacks and ongoing fear of their occurrence. It often leads to avoidance behaviors and significant lifestyle changes.

Phobias

Phobias are Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations, leading to avoidance behavior. Phobias can severely impact daily functioning and quality of life.

Play Therapy

Play Therapy is a therapeutic modality, primarily used with children, as a means to understand and communicate their feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Recognizing that children might not have the linguistic capabilities to express complex emotions or experiences, this therapy offers them a more intuitive medium: the world of play.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is a medical specialty that addresses mental health disorders, utilizing therapy, medication, and other interventions to diagnose, treat, and manage conditions affecting emotions, thoughts, and behavior.

Psychoanalysis (see also Freudian approach)

The hallmark of psychoanalysis is the assumption that much mental activity is unconscious and that understanding people requires interpreting the unconscious meaning underlying behavior through talking freely about personal experiences, including early childhood and dreams.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy delves deep into the unconscious mind to understand the root causes of current behaviors, feelings, and patterns. Stemming from Freudian psychoanalysis, it operates on the belief that unresolved past experiences, especially from childhood, can influence our present actions and emotions.

Relationships

Relationships are connections between individuals, including family, friends, and romantic partners. Healthy relationships are vital for emotional support, while dysfunctional ones can cause stress.

Self-harm Behavior

Cutting is a form of self-harm where individuals intentionally inflict cuts on their body, often as a way to cope with emotional pain or distress.

Severe Mental Illness (SMI)

A severe mental illness is a chronic mental health condition that significantly impairs daily functioning, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. SMI or psychosis requires comprehensive treatment and support.

Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders are conditions that disrupt normal sleep patterns, including insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome. They can affect overall health and well-being.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a therapeutic approach that emphasizes finding solutions in the present moment and exploring one’s hopes for the future, rather than digging into problems or issues from the past. SFBT operates on the belief that clients are experts in their own lives and that they already possess the necessary skills and insights to create positive change.

Stress Management

Stress is the body's response to demands or threats,, which can be physical, mental, or emotional. Chronic stress can lead to various health problems and requires effective management.

Substance Use Disorder

Substance use disorder is a cluster of physiological, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms associated with the continued use of substances despite substance-related problems, distress, and/or impairment, such as impaired control and risky use. (From APA.org. 2024. https://www.apa.org/topics/substance-use-abuse-addiction. Accessed May 16, 2024.)

The Gottman Method

Developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, the Gottman Method is a therapeutic approach specifically designed to help couples strengthen their relationships. Drawing from extensive research on couple dynamics, this method offers both assessment and intervention techniques to enhance intimacy, trust, and mutual understanding.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a science-backed, FDA-approved, noninvasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of major depression. TMS offers hope for people facing the challenges of treatment-resistant depression and an increasing list of other conditions, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and migraines.

Transference

In psychoanalysis, transference is the act of a client transferring or projecting onto their therapist unconscious feelings originally directed toward important individuals, such as parents, from the client’s childhood. Generally, it is when someone redirects their feelings about one person onto someone else.

Trauma

Trauma is an emotional and psychological response to deeply distressing events. Trauma can have lasting adverse effects on mental and physical health, requiring specialized therapeutic interventions.

Trauma-Informed Therapy

Trauma-Informed Therapy is an integrative approach that recognizes the prevalence and pervasive impact of trauma on an individual's well-being. By understanding the deep-seated effects of trauma, this therapy ensures that all treatment is provided in a manner that is sensitive to, and aware of, the vulnerabilities of those living with trauma. At the heart of Trauma-Informed Therapy lies the belief that trauma can fundamentally shape an individual’s perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The therapy seeks not just to address the symptoms or distressing memories, but to acknowledge the comprehensive impact of trauma and to rebuild a sense of safety and trust.

Trust

Trust is a fundamental component of healthy relationships. Trust involves confidence in the reliability and integrity of others, essential for emotional safety and intimacy.