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A

abreaction is a technique, now little used, where the patient is administered a sedative such as a barbiturate and then interviewed, usually about difficult matters.

acculturation The process of adapting to a different culture or environment, difficulties here need to be distinguished from mental disorder.

acetylcholine A neurotransmitter in the brain, lack of which may contribute to memory problems.

achromatopsia Colour blindness, innate and accquired.

acting out a description of disturbed behaviour, which is presumed to be expressive of underlying emotional conflicts. It tends to imply that the user of the term does not think the patient should be blamed for their actions.

addictionpsychological or physical dependence on a substance; there may be tolerance and withdrawal.

adjustment disorder A temporary psychological reaction to external events. It goes beyond a normal reaction, and usually lasts less than six months.
affect Current emotional state, at a given point, as distinct from their mood, which is their predominant affect over time. Sometimes it is used to refer only to the outward expression of an underlying mood state, but this use is less frequent.
affect illusion Illusions associated with changes in affect, so that if a person is frightened, he may see a shadow as an assailant.

affective disorders disorders of mood.

age-associated memory impairment the mild (normal) difficulties in memory with age; synonyms are benign senescent forgetfulness and "a senior moment".

agitation Excessive physical activity in association with anxiety, such as fidgeting, handwringing, restlessness, etc..
agnosia inability to recognise objects or parts of the body, even though sensory function such as sight and hearing is normal; seen in dementia and stroke, amongst other conditions.
agoraphobia Literally, fear of the marketplace- that is, fear of public places, or of being in circumstances from escape might be difficult or embarrassing. It is seen in anxiety and depressive disorders, and commonly panic attacks also occur.
akathisia excessive motor activity due to restlessness, typically causing pacing or fidgeting; there is a psychological component of agitation also; it is usually due to psychotropic drugs, especially antipsychotics.
akinesia markedly reduced voluntary movement.

akinetic mutism the patient appear to be conscious, but does not move or speak..

alexithymia difficulty in verbal expression of emotion. he feels.

alogia reduced thinking, often inferred from poverty of speech, seen in chronic schizophrenia.

ambivalence contradictory feelings or thoughts about a particular issue or person; this is not in itself pathological.

amentia synonym for severe learning difficulty.

amines compounds which containing an amino group: some, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline are important as neurotransmitters.

amnesia Loss of memory, whether partial or complete; anterograde amnesia is loss of memory of things happening after the head injury or other event; retrograde amnesia is of loss memory for things that happened before.

amok culture specific syndrome from Malaya, said to involve an acute confusional state with violence towards others and/or suicide.

amygdala brain structure, part of the limbic system.

amyloid proteins deposited in cells in Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

anal stage Freud's theory of psychosexual development suggests that a child from about 1 to 3 years is focussed on defecation; however, the theory is unproven and of little clinical relevance.

anankastic personality Synonym for obsessive-compulsive personality.

anhedonia the patient is unable to take pleasure in things he normally enjoys; it is seen in depressive states.

anima Jung's term for a someone's inner self, as distinct from the persona presented to the outside world.

anomie alienation from family and society, suggested by Durkheim a factor in suicide.
anorexia nervosa an eating disorder with morbid fear of fatness, leading to excessive dieting, exercising, self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, etc. Patients have body image disturbance, believing they are obese when most are underweight.
anosognosia is where a stroke patient seems unaware of his disability.

anxiety is the apprehensive anticipation of danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of dysphoria and/or bodily symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, hyperventilation, and faintness. Unlike fear, which can be seen as an appropriate response to a real threat, the symptoms in anxiety are out of proportion to any actual threat, if any, which is present.

apathy Lack of feeling or initiative.

aphasia impaired language ability, regarding understanding or expression.

apraxia impaired ability to do skilled motor activities despite intact understanding and motor function

astasia-abasia is a form of hysterical disorder of gait.
asthenia is a general weakness or debility, without physical cause: neurasthenia denotes an illness characterised by tiredness, emotional symptoms and reduced function, similar to "chronic fatigue syndrome".
asyndesis type of disorder of the form of thought, with loosening of association between topics- the subject jumps from one subject to another with little connection between them.

ataxia loss of co-ordination of voluntary muscular movement.

attention the capacity to concentrate on an activity: reduced attention can be seen in easy distractibility or difficulty in completing things

auditory hallucination the person hears a sound, which is real to them, and comes from outside the head, but there is no sensory stimulus, no real sound which others could hear.

aura a premonitory sensation or thought which warns of an attack of migraine or epilepsy.

autochthonous delusion a delusion which comes on suddenly, without apparent cause.

automatic obedience excessive compliance with the examiner's instructions; it is associated with catatonia, and is therefore now rare.

automatism behaviours, such as sleepwalking and in epilepsy, which appear to happen without conscious control, and are usually not recalled afterwards.

avolition lack of drive and initiative to carry out normal activities; this is seen most commonly as a "negative symptom" of schizophrenia.

B

basal ganglia Clusters of neurones deep in the brain, involved in control of movement.

belle indifference ('la belle indifference') is a lack of concern about a hysterical disability.

bestiality sexual relations between a person and an animal, or the desire for them; it is a type of paraphilia.

beta-blocker drug which blocks the actions of adrenaline and the related nor-adrenaline, and is used in high blood pressure and heart disease; they are also used to treat physical manifestations of anxiety, e.g. palpitations.

bizarre delusion content of delusion obviously implausible, bearing in mind patient's background and culture.

blunted affect reduction in range and intensity of emotional expression

body image sense of the self and body.

bouffÈe dÈlirante French term for brief psychotic disorders

bradykinesia neurological term for generalized motor slowness.

bruxism unconscious grinding of the teeth, whilst awake or asleep; association with mental disorders

bulimia nervosa eating disorder characterised by abnormal eating patterns, especially bingeing.

C

Capgras syndrome (illusion des sosies) delusion family member has been replaced by a double, usually secondary to schizophrenia or organic brain disease.

catalepsy catatonic maintenance of abnormal body positions over an extended period of time.

cataplexy sudden attack of muscular flaccidity, leading to collapse. in association with strong emotion.

catatonic behaviour severe "classical" form of schizophrenia, now rare, with motor immobility (i.e., catalepsy or stupor), negativism, mutism, posturing or stereotyped movements, and echolalia or echopraxia

catharsis positive resolution of emotional crisis, often by talking through the problem with the therapist.

causalgia semi-obsolete synonym for severe pain, especially pain which cannot be explained by physical disease

cerea flexibilitas means "waxy flexibility;" it is seen in catatonic schizophrenia, and is now therefore rare; the patient's limbs can be placed in awkward positions which he will then maintain, as if he were made from plasticene.

chorea abnormal involuntary writhing movements.

circumstantiality speech is indirect, with irrelevant material, but the patient does get to the point in the end.

clang association disorder of the form of thought when words seem to follow each other on the basis of sound or rhyme, rather than meaning.

climacteric menopause

clouding of consciousness an organic mental state, characterised by drowsiness and generalised impairments in cognitive functioning. It usually suggests an acute confusional state or delirium.

cognitive to do with thought or thinking.

comorbidity simultaneous existence of two or more disorders, such as mental illness and substance misuse.

compensation this can either mean an unconscious psychoanalytical "defence mechanism", or a consciously desired outcome of litigation.

compulsion ritualistic behaviour such as repeated cleaning, to prevent some dreaded consequence, even though the patient knows it is irrational.

concrete thinking is focussed on immediate practical matters, and cannot deal with abstractions. It may be secondary to organic brain disease or schizophrenia.
confabulation fluctuating false memory, made up by the patient to cover organic amnesia.
constricted affect mildly reduced range and intensity of emotional expression.

conversion is the hysterical production of neurological symptoms such as weakness or blindness.

coprolalia involuntary use of socially inappropriate words

coprophagia eating of faeces.

Cotard's syndrome type of nihilistic delusion: the patient believes that he does not exist

countertransference the therapist's unconscious emotional reactions to the patient, deriving from the therapist's own issues.

cretinism severe mental retardation due to untreated congenital thyroid deficiency.

cri du chat type of mental retardation, with characteristic catlike cry; it is caused by partial deletion of chromosome 5.

culture-specific syndromes forms of disturbed in certain societies which are difficult to fit into psychiatric classification systems, including amok, koro, latah, etc.
cyclothymia type of personality, with pronounced variability of mood through depression and elation, but not severe enough to count as bipolar affective disorder.
D

decompensation loose shorthand for deterioration of symptoms and/or behaviour under stress.

defence mechanisms suggested in psychoanalytic theory as unconscious psychological processes, which serve to protect the individual against awareness of internal or external stressors or dangers.

dÈj‡ pensÈ a new thought feels familiar- one feels he has thought the same thing before

dÈj‡ vu the sensation of undue familiarity with an event or a person- one feels that the same thing has happened before, etc.
delirium synonymous with acute organic brain syndrome and confusional state: due to physical causes, consciousness is reduced, with disorientation, illusions, visual hallucinations, persecutory ideation, and consequent disturbed behaviour.
delirium tremens confusional state following sudden stoppage of drinking in a dependent subject

delusion a (usually) false belief, which is inappropriate to the patient's religion and culture, and which is impervious to argument or evidence

delusion of reference that events or other circumstances have a particular and meaning for the patient, e.g. "the car flashed its headlights, which confirms that the secret services are after me".

delusional jealousy that one's partner is unfaithful.

delusional mood also known as wahnstimmung, a conviction that something of special importance to the patient is about to happen.

delusional perception normal perception which has become incorporated into a delusional system.

dementia chronic organic mental illness, e.g. Alzheimer's, with progressive global deterioration in intellectual function

dementia praecox Kraepelin crucially distinguished this psychotic illness ("premature dementia") from manic depressive illness (now termed bipolar affective disorder). The patients had what we would now diagnose as severe schizophrenia with negative symptoms. The term dementia praecox is not now used clinically, however, as the patients do not have the modern concept of dementia.

dementia pugilistica ("punch-drunk") consists of parkinsonism plus intellectual impairment in professional boxers, and other with a history of repeated head trauma.

denial postulated psychoanalytic defence mechanism, where certain information is repressed from consciousness.

depersonalisation sensation that one has become unreal or detached from reality or is in a dream; can be normal (e.g. in exhaustion, strong emotion) or associated with anxiety, hysteria and neurological disorders.

depression affective disorder, currently overdiagnosed, with profound, persistent sadness, unresponsive to circumstances.

derealisation sensation that the world has become unreal, similar to depersonalisation.

derailment or "loosening of associations", a disorder of the form of thought where the patient's speech keeps changing topic without obvious links, whilst still making grammatical sense.

detachment personality characterised by general aloofness in personal relations

dhat culture bound syndrome (Indian males) involving complaint of losing semen in the urine

disinhibition loss of normal social inhibitions, seen in intoxication, psychosis, mania, and organic disorders such as dementia and occasionally tumour

disorientation loss of correct knowledge of the day, date, or season, or location, due to loss of short-term memory in organic mental states. Long term memory, e.g. for who one is, is relatively preserved.

displacement postulated psychoanalytic defence mechanism, where emotions are unconsciously transferred from their original focus to some more acceptable one.

dissociation or dissociative state: this is part of hysteria (or conversion and dissociative disorders, to use the current term), where the patient loses psychological function: e.g. hysterical amnesia or psychogenic fugue.

distractibility inability to attend

doppelg‰nger phenomenon where the patient feels that his "double" accompanies him

double bind Bateson suggested that schizophrenia might be contributed to by the patient having to respond to inconsistent communications in the family.

drive motivation

dyad a two-person relationship

dysarthria speech affected by disorder of the physical organs of speech, e.g. hoarseness due to laryngitis

dyskinesia technically, any disorder of movement, but in practice used to mean involuntary muscular activity, such as the grimacing of tardive dyskinesia.

dyslexia reading difficulty, e.g. word-blindness

dysphoria any unpleasant mood state, such as sadness, anxiety, irritability, etc.

dyspraxia difficulty carrying out skilled movement, suggestive of stroke or other cerebral pathology

dystonia disorder of muscle tone

E

echolalia automatic repetition of the last words the patient has heard.

echopraxia automatically mirroring of another's doings.

Ècho de la pensÈe see gedankenlautwerden

ego the psychoanalytic model of the mind suggests three major components, ego, id and superego. The ego can be thought of the as the conscious mind, with the id representing primitive instinct, and the superego conscience.

ego-dystonic those aspects of a person he experiences as inconsistent with his personality as a whole.

elaboration postulated unconscious psychoanalytic process, whereby details about, say, a dream are embellished

elevated mood mood is high, euphoric, or elated.

erotomania (de Clerambault's syndrome): delusion, usually part of schizophrenia, that another person is in love with (usually) her.

euthymic normal mood state

extinction in behaviour therapy, a reinforced operant response will gradually become extinguished, if reward (reinforcement) ceases; so that Pavlov's dogs would gradually stop salivating at the sound of the bell, if the bell were no longer accompanied by food.

extracampine hallucinations outside the possible range of sensation, for example seeing oneself from behind

extraversion a personality type whose energy and attention is largely directed towards the outside world.

F

fatuous affect mood state is silly and childlike, seen in schizophrenia

first rank symptoms Schneider's list of the most characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia, though we now know that all of them occurred to some extent in other disorders

flashback A recurrence of a memory, feeling, or perceptual experience from the past.

flat affect reduced range of emotional fluctuation

flight of ideas in elevated mood states, thoughts are speeded up and jump from topic to topic with no sense, perhaps linked only by a similar word sound.

flooding technique from behaviour therapy, where, for example, a fear of water would be treated by jumping into a swimming pool.

folie ‡ deux delusions held by the strong willed person, such as a parent, can come to be held by a weaker personality living with them, typically a child, so-called induced psychosis.

formal thought disorder shorthand for disorder of the form of thought, including derailment or "loosening of associations", Knight's Move thinking and word salad.

formication tactile hallucination: that ants are crawling on one, seen most characteristically in delirium tremens.

free association psychoanalytic technique, where the patient says whatever comes to mind

Fregoli syndrome: delusion secondary to schizophrenia or organic brain disease that someone threatening is somehow present in a familiar person, cf. Capgras syndrome.

frontal lobe syndrome pathology here can impair judgement, change personality, and cause disinhibition, amongst other features.

frotteurism sexual deviation involving desire to touching a non-consenting person, for example on a crowded tube.

G

gedankenlautwerden audible thoughts: the patient hears his thoughts spoken aloud, a Schneiderian first rank symptom.

gegenhalten in catatonia, the patient opposes all passive movements.

gender dysphoria aversion toward one's biological sex, with possible conviction that one "should have" been born into the other biological sex.

gender identity one's self-view as male or female.

globus hystericus sensation of a "lump in the throat": seen in anxiety.

grandiosity idea or delusion that one has superior powers, strength, wealth, beauty etc., seen in mania and psychosis

gustatory hallucination involves the sense of taste.

H

hallucination a sensory perception which seems real to the person but which arises without any external stimulus. They may occur in any sensory modality. Visual ones suggest organic states, auditory ones mental illness, especially schizophrenia. False perceptions can occur whilst falling asleep (hypnagogic), dreaming, or awakening (hypnopompic), but these would not usually be termed hallucinations.

heautoscopy the hallucination of "seeing one's own body at a distance"

hippocampus part of the limbic system, involved in memory and emotion.

hyperacusis oversensitivity to noise; seen in anxiety.

hypersomnia Excessive sleepiness.

hypnagogic hallucinations see hallucinations

hypnopompic hallucinations see hallucinations

hypnopompic Referring to the state immediately preceding awakening; may include hallucinations that are of no pathological significance.

hypomania affective disorder characterised by elation, overactivity, and insomnia; insight is partially preserved; may progress to mania.

hysterical amnesia sudden loss of memory without organic cause, usually in context of psychosocial stress



I

id Freudian theory: primitive part of the mind, source of instinct and drive.

ideas of reference feeling that things and events have direct reference to oneself. May reach sufficient intensity to constitute delusions.

idÈe fixe see overvalued idea.

identification psychoanalysis: defence mechanism, unconsciously modelling oneself on some other person. Said to be important in personality development, especially the superego (cf. conscience).

idiot savant person with learning difficulty who can nevertheless do elaborate arithmetic or memory tasks.

illusion misinterpretation of a real sensory stimulus, often coloured by emotion, e.g. fear making a person see a shadow as an assailant.

imprinting in animal behaviour, rapid learning or behavioural patterning at critical points in development. Relevance in humans is unclear.

inappropriate affect mood incongruous to situation / thought content

incoherence see word salad.

individuation the process by which the unique individual personality is formed.

indoleamine amines (e.g. serotonin) with an indole ring in their chemical structure.

initial insomnia Difficulty in falling asleep.

insight the patient's understanding of whether he is ill, need for treatment, etc..

insomnia complaint of difficulty falling or staying asleep or poor sleep quality.

instinct inborn drive.

intellectualisation excessive abstract thinking to avoid difficult issues.

introspection examination of one's own feelings and thoughts.

introversion preoccupation with self rather than others and the world.

jamais vu abnormal feeling that something familiar has never happened before. (cf. dej‡ vu).

K

Klinefelter's syndrome males with an extra X-chromosome; may have feminisation, sterility, and low intelligence.

Kl¸ver Bucy syndrome placidity, hyperphagia and other features, due to limbic system damage.

Knight's Move thinking cf., derailment of thought or loosening of associations: a disorder of the form of thought with unusual though fathomable associations between ideas.

koro culture-bound syndrome (China): panic from fear of retraction of penis into abdomen, and this will be fatal.

Korsakoff's Syndrome amnesia (esp. short-term memory) and confabulation in chronic alcoholism. Personality and long-term memory are relatively preserved.

kuru (New Guinea): a prion disease, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy transmitted (formerly) by cannibalism.

L

la belle indiffÈrence see belle indiffÈrence.

labile affect abnormally unstable sudden rapid shifts in affect.

latah culture bound syndrome (Malaya) said to involve automatic obedience, echolalia and echopraxia.

latent content psychoanalysis: unconscious meaning, especially relating to dreams.

learned helplessness proposal as an animal model of depression (Seligman), told repeatedly exposed to adverse treatment adopted a withdrawn and apparently helpless presentation; relevance to the human condition, uncertain.

learning disability below average IQ (<70 or below), together with impaired social functioning.

libido sex drive.

Lilliputian hallucinations object seem reduced in size, but otherwise normal; said to be characteristic of delirium tremens.

logorrhoea, a somewhat pretentious synonym for volubility or loquacity.

long-term memory includes both biographical (from childhood onwards), and more recent memory, for example, events in current affairs.

loosening of associations see derailment.

M

magical thinking a term which expresses well some aspects of childhood thinking, but which seems imprecise as a component of the US diagnosis of "schizotypal disorder", a condition, much less well recognised internationally.

mania affective disorder with elevated mood, overactivity and loss of insight.

mania a potu a disputed entity, suggested as a "pathological intoxication" with alcohol, small amounts, producing marked disinhibition and violence.

manifest content psychoanalysis: the parts of a dream one remembers, as distinct from the so-called "latent content", said to be revealed in analysis.

masochism sexual variation, consisting of pleasure derived from receiving pain.

mental retardation see learning disability

middle insomnia waking in the night, then going back to sleep, but with difficulty.

mitgehen extreme form of mitmachen

mitmachen a phenomenon in catatonia, where the patient's body can be put by the Examiner into any position, in spite of the structures that the patient resist.

mood the predominant sustained emotional state of the subject: it is the emotional "climate", as against the affect, which by extension is the emotional "weather".

mood-congruent features all of an illness which are in line with and apparently produced by the mood, for example, a person with psychotic severe depression may have a delusion that he is and evil murderer and does not deserve to live, but when the mood has improved the delusion gradually disappears.

N

negative symptoms characteristics of some patients with schizophrenia, including lack of initiative, reduced self-care, poverty of speech emotion and action, lack of interest in relationships, etc.

neologism a nonsense word, made up by a patient with severe psychosis, usually part of this order of the form of thought.

neuroleptic malignant syndrome hyperpyrexia, autonomic instability and muscular rigidity, related to the use of neuroleptic (antipsychotic) medication.

neurosis umbrella term for the common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, etc., distinct from psychotic disorders as reality testing is intact.

night terrors see sleep terror disorder

nihilistic delusion that oneself, or the world, does not exist: seen in severe depression.

nystagmus involuntary repeated movements of the eyes.

O

object relations psychoanalysis: focus on the ability to have relationships.

obsession repetitive unpleasant thought, known to be nonsensical by the subject, but which they recognise to be their own thought. Efforts at stopping the thoughts are accompanied by an increase in anxiety. May be accompanied by compulsions.

oedipal stage psychoanalysis: a postulated stage of development between the ages of approximately 4 to 6, when the personality develops, and the relationship with the parents matures.

olfactory hallucination involves a false taste perception, for example, a patient with psychotic depression may smell their own flesh rotting.

oneiroid state dreamlike state: the term is usually used in connection with epilepsy.

operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning) behaviour theory: the results of the behaviour influence whether it will be repeated, reward promoting repetition, and lack of reward or punishment discouraging it.

oral stage psychoanalysis: postulated as the early stage of infant development, from birth to about one year, when the baby is fixated on suckling.

orientation see disorientation.

overvalued idea a belief, usually false, which is inappropriate, bearing in mind the persons culture and background, and which is partially maintained in the face of contrary evidence in hand of arguments, but the intensity of the holding of the belief is less than that of a delusion.

P

panic attacks sudden severe attacks of anxiety, which may be unexpected or produced by a known trigger, for example having to speak in public.

paranoid ideation ideas, of less than delusional intensity, of persecution, etc.

parasomnia unusual behaviour during sleep, for example sleepwalking.

pareidolia an inconsequential stimulus is mistakenly seen as real (e.g. a face in the clouds); it is not necessarily abnormal, those seen in a variety of mental disorders.

passivity phenomena psychotic phenomena where the patient believes his actions or mind is controlled by others, e.g. thought insertion and withdrawal.

persecutory delusion of being conspired against, etc.

perseveration inappropriate repetition of some behaviour or thought or speech, even though the provoking stimulus, such as a question, has ceased. It is seen in organic disorders and schizophrenia.

personality disorder permanent maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaviour, present by adolescents or early and adulthood, and continuing in spite of adverse experience.

phobia anxiety provoked by a specific object or situation, for example, dogs. It may lead to avoidance of the provoking stimulus.

pressure of speech most often a feature of mania, the speech is loud, speeded up, and hard to interrupt.

prodrome premonitory sign or symptom of a developing disorder

projection psychoanalysis: unconscious defence mechanism, in which the difficulties in the self are projected onto others.

pseudocyesis phantom pregnancy.

pseudodementia a severe mental illness, most often severe depression in the elderly, which mimics the features of dementia.

pseudologia fantastica exaggeration or fabrication of symptoms, seen in malingering, and factitious disorder.

psychological pillow catatonic feature, where the patient holds his head a few inches above the bed.

psychogenic fugue patient arrives in distant place, claiming no knowledge of who they are, how they got there, etc. Dissociative amnesia following psychosocial stress is usual,

psychomotor retardation general slowing of movement and speech, typically in severe depression.

psychosis severe mental disorder, with delusions and hallucinations, so that the patient has lost touch with reality.

psychotic adjective relating to psychosis

psychotropic medication affects mental state, in effect it means drugs used in the treatment of mental disorder.

R

reaction formation psychoanalysis: unconscious defence mechanism, in which a person behaves in a way which is the opposite of his inner self.

regression return to immature patterns of behaviour under stress.

reinforcement this refers to the central principle in behaviour theory, which is that a behaviour is reinforced if it is rewarded.

residual phase for example, a psychotic episode can respond to treatment and be positive symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations disappear, but the patient may still be left with chronic schizophrenia with negative symptoms.

S

seasonal affective disorder depressive illness only mainly during winter; responds to standard treatment for depression.

secondary gain external gain from any illness, e.g. attention, benefits, and release from unpleasant responsibilities.

sensitiver beziehungswahn see ideas of reference.

shaping type of behaviour therapy where behaviours are rewarded, depending how similar they are to that desired; used in learning disability.

sick role identity adopted by an individual as a "patient", displaying expected dependent behaviours (Mechanic).

sleep terror disorder otherwise known as night terrors, seen in children; it is like waking from a nightmare, except that no dream can be recalled.

somatic delusion about the body, e.g. the bowels have turned to stone.

splitting mental mechanism in which the self or others viewed as either good or bad, seemed for example, in patients with personality disorder, who skilfully divide staff teams and set them against each other in an effort to avoid dealing with their own issues.

stereotyped movements repetitive and unrewarding behaviours such as rocking, tapping etc.

Stockholm syndrome is when a hostage or other vulnerable person seems paradoxically, to display loyalty towards the hostage taker.

structural theory Freud's model of the mental apparatus composed of id, ego, and superego.

stupor A state of unresponsiveness with immobility and mutism

suggestibility Uncritical compliance or acceptance of a proposition.

superego psychoanalysis: part of the mental makeup, similar to conscience, and formed by identification with parents and others in early life.

systematic desensitisation behaviour therapy for anxiety, especially phobias, by making a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking stimuli; the patient then encounters them progressively, starting with the easiest, until they no longer produce anxiety.

T

tactile hallucination false perception of being touched, e.g. formication (see delirium tremens)

tangentiality oblique or irrelevant replies, which may not answer the question properly. Cf. circumstantiality.

tardive dyskinesia involuntary movement disorder, with mouth and facial movements, truncal movements or athetoid limb movements.

termination The process of ending in psychotherapy.

therapeutic community residential group therapy, where patients encourage each other to function within norms and deal with issues.

thought blocking the delusion that the patient's thoughts are stopped, apparently by an outside agency- seen in schizophrenia, a Schneiderian first rank symptom.

thought broadcasting the delusion that the patient's thoughts are being broadcast- seen in schizophrenia, a Schneiderian first rank symptom.

thought disorder disorder of the form of thought, where connections between thoughts are disrupted.

thought insertion delusion that thoughts, not one's own, are being inserted into one's mind- seen in schizophrenia, a Schneiderian first rank symptom.

thought withdrawal delusion that thoughts are being removed from one's mind- seen in schizophrenia, a Schneiderian first rank symptom.

tic involuntary, quick, stereotyped movement or vocalisation.

token economy application of operant conditioning to the management of, say, a rehabilitation unit, with tokens (for tangible rewards) given for task performance; there are obvious ethical problems, and it is now less used.

tolerance in substance misuse, where the effect of a given dose of the substance gets less, so the patient tends to increase the dose/

transvestism sexual pleasure from dressing and / or appearing as a member of the opposite sex.

trichotillomania habit of pulling out one's hair

U

unconscious the unconscious is part of the model of the mind popularised by Freud. It is difficult to define something which by definition we cannot know (the word deriving ultimately from Latin scio, I know.). No-one would deny the importance of mental processes such as drive or automatic behaviours such as driving a motor car or automatic cognitive patterns, even though we are not aware of them all the time. The key point is that they can be called into awareness. The Freudian unconscious is something which its proponents regard as only available through such processes as dream interpretation and free association, which could hardly be regarded as scientific, as they are presumably subjective and not reproducible.

V

visual hallucination A hallucination involving sight, which may consist of formed images, such as of people, or of unformed images, such as flashes of light. Visual hallucinations should be distinguished from illusions, which are misperceptions of real external stimuli.

W

word salad severe disorder of the form of thought, where speech consists of an unintelligible mixture of words, syllables or even sounds.

Z

zoophilia sexual interest in or activity with animals.