A Glossary of Common Psychiatric Terms
When you begin treatment for a mental health condition, you might hear your doctor or therapist use words that are new to you. The world of psychiatry has its own specific language, and hearing these clinical terms can sometimes feel confusing or intimidating. But understanding this language can be incredibly empowering. It allows you to better understand your own condition and to participate more fully in conversations about your care.
At Televero Health, we believe in clear communication. This glossary is designed to be a simple, easy-to-understand guide to some of the most common terms you might encounter on your mental health journey. Think of it as a helpful dictionary for your path to recovery.
Acute: Refers to symptoms that are severe and sudden in onset. An acute phase of an illness is the period when symptoms are at their most active.
Affect: The observable expression of a person’s emotions, such as their facial expression, tone of voice, and body language. A doctor might describe a person’s affect as “flat” (showing no emotion) or “labile” (rapidly changing).
Agoraphobia: An anxiety disorder involving the fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or help might not be available if a panic attack occurs. This often leads to avoiding places like crowds, public transportation, or even leaving the home.
Anhedonia: A core symptom of depression, meaning the loss of interest or pleasure in activities that one used to enjoy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying, challenging, and changing unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving.
Comorbidity: When a person has two or more medical or psychiatric conditions at the same time. For example, having both Major Depressive Disorder and an alcohol use disorder.
Compulsion: A repetitive behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. The goal is to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession. A key feature of OCD.
Diagnosis: The process of identifying a disease or condition by its signs and symptoms.
Differential Diagnosis: The process of distinguishing between two or more conditions that share similar symptoms.
DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. It is the standard manual used by clinicians in the U.S. to diagnose mental illnesses.
Euthymia: A normal, stable mood that is neither manic nor depressed.
Executive Functions: The high-level mental skills managed by the brain’s frontal lobe, including planning, organizing, working memory, and impulse control. These are often impaired in conditions like ADHD and depression.
Exposure Therapy: A type of therapy used for anxiety disorders and phobias that involves gradually and safely confronting feared objects or situations to break the cycle of avoidance.
Hypomania: A period of elevated mood and energy that is less severe than a full manic episode. It is a key feature of Bipolar II Disorder.
Mania: A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and increased energy. It causes severe impairment in functioning and is the defining feature of Bipolar I Disorder.
Mood Stabilizer: A class of medication used to treat bipolar disorder by controlling the shifts between mania and depression.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger in the brain that carries signals between nerve cells. Examples include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Obsession: An intrusive, unwanted, and recurrent thought, image, or urge that causes significant anxiety or distress. A key feature of OCD.
Pharmacotherapy: The treatment of a condition with medication.
Psychosis: A condition that affects the mind’s connection with reality. Symptoms can include delusions (fixed, false beliefs) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there).
Psychotherapy: The treatment of mental health conditions by talking with a trained professional, also known as “talk therapy.”
Relapse: The return of symptoms after a period of improvement or remission.
Remission: A state where a person’s symptoms have been reduced to a minimal or non-existent level. This is often the goal of the acute phase of treatment.
SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor): The most common class of antidepressant medication. It works by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin available in the brain.
Stigma: A set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something, such as a mental illness.
Taper: The process of slowly and gradually reducing the dose of a medication over time to safely discontinue it.
Treatment-Resistant: A term for a condition that has not responded adequately to at least two different standard treatments.
81. A Glossary of Common Psychiatric Terms
When you begin treatment for a mental health condition, you might hear your doctor or therapist use words that are new to you. The world of psychiatry has its own specific language, and hearing these clinical terms can sometimes feel confusing or intimidating. But understanding this language can be incredibly empowering. It allows you to better understand your own condition and to participate more fully in conversations about your care.
At Televero Health, we believe in clear communication. This glossary is designed to be a simple, easy-to-understand guide to some of the most common terms you might encounter on your mental health journey. Think of it as a helpful dictionary for your path to recovery.
Acute: Refers to symptoms that are severe and sudden in onset. An acute phase of an illness is the period when symptoms are at their most active.
Affect: The observable expression of a person’s emotions, such as their facial expression, tone of voice, and body language. A doctor might describe a person’s affect as “flat” (showing no emotion) or “labile” (rapidly changing).
Agoraphobia: An anxiety disorder involving the fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or help might not be available if a panic attack occurs. This often leads to avoiding places like crowds, public transportation, or even leaving the home.
Anhedonia: A core symptom of depression, meaning the loss of interest or pleasure in activities that one used to enjoy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying, challenging, and changing unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving.
Comorbidity: When a person has two or more medical or psychiatric conditions at the same time. For example, having both Major Depressive Disorder and an alcohol use disorder.
Compulsion: A repetitive behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. The goal is to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession. A key feature of OCD.
Diagnosis: The process of identifying a disease or condition by its signs and symptoms.
Differential Diagnosis: The process of distinguishing between two or more conditions that share similar symptoms.
DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. It is the standard manual used by clinicians in the U.S. to diagnose mental illnesses.
Euthymia: A normal, stable mood that is neither manic nor depressed.
Executive Functions: The high-level mental skills managed by the brain’s frontal lobe, including planning, organizing, working memory, and impulse control. These are often impaired in conditions like ADHD and depression.
Exposure Therapy: A type of therapy used for anxiety disorders and phobias that involves gradually and safely confronting feared objects or situations to break the cycle of avoidance.
Hypomania: A period of elevated mood and energy that is less severe than a full manic episode. It is a key feature of Bipolar II Disorder.
Mania: A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and increased energy. It causes severe impairment in functioning and is the defining feature of Bipolar I Disorder.
Mood Stabilizer: A class of medication used to treat bipolar disorder by controlling the shifts between mania and depression.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger in the brain that carries signals between nerve cells. Examples include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Obsession: An intrusive, unwanted, and recurrent thought, image, or urge that causes significant anxiety or distress. A key feature of OCD.
Pharmacotherapy: The treatment of a condition with medication.
Psychosis: A condition that affects the mind’s connection with reality. Symptoms can include delusions (fixed, false beliefs) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there).
Psychotherapy: The treatment of mental health conditions by talking with a trained professional, also known as “talk therapy.”
Relapse: The return of symptoms after a period of improvement or remission.
Remission: A state where a person’s symptoms have been reduced to a minimal or non-existent level. This is often the goal of the acute phase of treatment.
SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor): The most common class of antidepressant medication. It works by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin available in the brain.
Stigma: A set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something, such as a mental illness.
Taper: The process of slowly and gradually reducing the dose of a medication over time to safely discontinue it.
Treatment-Resistant: A term for a condition that has not responded adequately to at least two different standard treatments.