If your child or adolescent is one of the millions with a mental health problem and you feel as if you have suddenly entered a new world with an entirely new language, guess what? You’re right. While the professionals are still speaking English, much of what you will hear from them is jargon, and you may be at a loss to understand many of the terms that come your way.

This glossary and the definitions which follow are to help you understand some of the terms you may encounter as you travel through the “system”. The definitions below, while based on recognized sources, are my own interpretation and understanding of the current use of these terms and are not legal or medical definitions. I have tried to put the meanings into a practical form with words that everyone can understand.

As of today, this glossary is still incomplete, but I plan to add to it once or twice a week. I have been lax in doing so for the last several weeks due to an unexpected total breakdown of my not-quite-a-year-old computer. So, if there is a term or phrase that you would like to see explained or defined - even before I complete putting this Glossary online - please contact me and I will add it to the glossary ASAP.

A

Acting out – The process of expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings through behavior and is usually aggressive, violent and/or disruptive or self abusive. The behavior may be used to garner attention, i.e., a temper tantrum or overtly promiscuous.

Acute – A sudden onset {of symptoms or illness} that progresses rapidly and demands urgent attention.

Acuity - A measurement of the types of disorders and their severity, the intensity in which those disorders’ symptoms and behaviors are expressed, and the level and types of care needed to adequately meet the patients’ needs. The level of acuity is used to determine staffing levels on inpatient psychiatric units.

Affect – Observable behavior such as facial expressions, vocalizations, or gestures that indicate emotion or feelings.

Anger management – Techniques or exercises used to control or reduce feelings of anger in an individual and the expression of anger by that that individual. Common techniques are deep breathing, mediation, changing the way you think and/or act, and other relaxation techniques.

Anxiety Disorders – Disordered characterized by chronic feelings of overwhelming anxiety and fear, unattached to any obvious source, that can grow progressively worse if not treated. The anxiety is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, cardiac disturbances, diarrhea or dizziness. Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder are considered anxiety disorders (all defined individually in this Glossary).

Asphyxia - A lack of oxygen in the body that is usually caused by interruption of breathing.

Antipsychotic - A group of medications used to treat psychosis. Antipsychotics are also often used to treat other mental disorders.



B

Behavioral health - Another name for mental health.

Bipolar Disorder - Also known as manic-depressive illness. This is a serious illness that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function. Dramatic mood swings can move from “high” feelings of extreme euphoria or irritability to depression, sometimes with periods of normal moods in between. Manic episodes may include such behaviors as prolonged periods without sleep or uncontrolled shopping. Each episode of mania or depression can last for hours, weeks or several months.

Borderline Personality Disorder - A mental illness marked by a pattern of unstable personal relationships and self image, as well as marked impulsivity. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder often have a strong fear of abandonment and may exhibit recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures or threats or self-mutilating behavior. They also may have inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger.

Brain Disorder - Any abnormality in the brain that results in impaired functioning or thinking.

Body image – A person’s sense of self and their body.

C

Child and adolescent psychiatrist – A fully-trained and licensed medical doctor (M.D.) or osteopathic physician (D.O.) who has been specially trained in psychiatry and who has at least two additional years of advanced training dealing with children, adolescents, and families beyond medical school and general psychiatric training. Ideally, a psychiatrist who is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in child and adolescent psychiatry. Psychiatrists—because they are licensed physicians—are the only mental health professionals who can prescribe and monitor medications to help restore imbalances in body chemistry that many believe are related to mental illness.

Chronic – A chronic condition or illness is one that persists over a long period of time (as opposed to an acute condition) without many changes or a condition or illness that reoccurrences frequently.

Cognition - Mental functions, such as the ability to think, reason, and remember.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - A psychosocial therapy that assumes that faulty thought patterns (thought patterns) cause meladaptive behavior and emotional responses. This treatment attempts to change unhealthy behavior through cognitive restructuring and behavior modification techniques.  

Conduct disorder – A personality disorder of children and adolescents which is characterized by aggressive and destructive behavior that upset the child’s environment, i.e., home, school, neighborhood, play ground, etc. A young person with conduct disorder may bully others, start fights, and may repeatedly and persistently demonstrate behaviors that are impulsive, difficult to control, violate societal norms and the rights of other people, and show unconcern about the feelings of others. Conduct disorder is more prevalent in males than females and the diagnosis is usually given for patients age 18 and younger.

Consumer - In mental health care, an individual who is using one or more mental health services.

Continuum of Care - A complete range of programs for children and adolescents with mental illness. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a seamless continuum of care includes, from least to most intensive:

    • Office or outpatient clinic, with visits usually under one hour.

    • Intensive case management, with specially trained individuals coordinating or 
        providing psychiatric, financial, legal and medical services to help the child or 
        adolescent live successfully at home and in the community.

     • Home-based treatment services, with a team of specially trained staff members who go
        into a home and develop a treatment program to help the child and family.

     • Family support services, which help families care for their children, possibly including
         parent training and support groups.

     • Day treatment program, an intensive combination of psychiatric treatment with special
         education, which the child or adolescent usually attends five days a week.

     • Partial hospitalization (day hospital), which provides all the treatment services of a
         psychiatric hospital; however, the patients go home each evening.

     • Emergency/crisis services, providing 24-hour support for emergencies. May include
         hospital emergency departments and mobile crisis teams.

     • Respite care services, which provide a brief period in which the patient stays away from
         home with specially trained individuals.

     • Therapeutic group home or community residence, which usually includes six to 10
         children or adolescents in each home. This may be linked with a day treatment program
         or specialized educational program. 

    • Crisis residence, which provides short-term (usually fewer than 15 days) crisis 
        intervention and treatment. Patients receive 24-hour supervision. 

    • Residential treatment facility, where seriously disturbed patients receive intensive and
         comprehensive psychiatric treatment in a campus-like setting on a longer-term basis. 

    • Hospital treatment, where patients receive comprehensive psychiatric treatment in a
         hospital. The length of treatment depends on each situation.

D

Delusion – A false belief that is based on incorrect inference or interpretation of external reality that is strongly held and is not subject to reason or contradictory evidence. Delusions are often seen in schizophrenia.

Denial – A defense mechanism used by a person in which he or she is unable or unwilling to see the situation as it is really is. The truth or real information is not accessed by the conscious mind.

Depression - A disorder characterized by sadness, inactivity, difficulty thinking and concentrating, a significant increase or decrease in appetite, sleeping excessively, feelings of dejection and hopelessness and sometimes suicidal thoughts or attempts to commit suicide. As a mental illness, depression can stand alone or can also be experienced in other disorders, such as bipolar disorder. Depression can range from mild to severe and is very treatable with modern medication and/or therapy.

Diagnosable Mental Illness – A mental illness or mental disorder, including those that have not yet received a formal diagnosis from a medical or mental health professional. 

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - The American Psychiatric Association’s handbook used by mental health professionals that lists standard categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosis of each. First published in 1952, there have been five revisions of the DSM. The DSM-IV-TR is the version currently in use (2008).

DSM – See Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. 

E

Early intervention – In mental health, diagnosing and treating mental illnesses early in their development. Studies show that early intervention can result in higher recovery rates. Many individuals, however, do not receive early mental health services due to the stigma of mental illness and other factors that keep them from seeking help until later in the illness’ development.

Eating Disorder - A serious disturbance in eating behavior, such as extreme and unhealthy reduction of food intake or severe overeating. Eating disorders are usually accompanied by feelings of extreme concern or distress about body shape or weight.