Author: Glossary

The return of symptoms associated with the present episode of psychiatric illness after the symptoms had been reduced or eliminated for a brief period. In treatment of alcoholism and substanceuse disorders, relapse refers to the reuse of the substance that produced the disorder. The return of a disease after the beginning of the convalescent period.…

The strengthening of a response by reward or avoidance of punishment. This process is central in operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, the procedure by which the unconditioned stimulus is made contingent upon the conditioned stimulus. In psychology, strengthening of a particular response or behavioral pattern by rewarding desirable behavior and punishing undesirable behavior. The strengthening…

A measurement obtained by using a technique such as radioactive xenon to chart brain blood flow.  

A proposed disorder (listed in dsm-iv-tr appendix b, “criteria sets and axes provided for further study”) whose essential feature is the recurrence of brief depressive episodes that are identical to major depressive disorder in number and severity of symptoms but that do not meet the 2-week duration requirement. Contrast with minor depressive disorder.  

The process of overcoming a particular life problem, such as gambling, codependency, mental illness, or childhood abuse, through inner change and personal growth, usually through a self-help program or psychotherapy. The process of returning to health after being ill or injured. Freedom from codependency; it often entails a long process of counseling and of reestablishing…

In behavior therapy, the hypothesis that if anxiety-provoking stimuli occur simultaneously with the inhibition of anxiety (e.g., relaxation), the bond between those stimuli and the anxiety will be weakened. The reflex relaxation of the antagonist muscle in response to the contraction of the agonist. The arrangement by which excitation of some neural system is accompanied…

The process of bringing a memory into consciousness. Recall is often used to refer to the recollection of facts, events, and feelings that occurred in the immediate past. A task in which some item must be produced from memory recognition. The act of remembering something from the past. The act of bringing back to mind…

The ability to evaluate the external world objectively and to differentiate adequately between it and the internal world. Falsification of reality, as with massive denial or projection, indicates a severe disturbance of ego functioning and/or of the perceptual and memory processes on which it is partly based. Behavior aimed at testing or exploring the nature…

In psychoanalytic theory, the concept that the pleasure principle, which represents the claims of instinctual wishes, is modified by the demands and requirements of the external world. The reality principle reflects compromises and allows for the postponement of gratification to a more appropriate time. The reality principle usually becomes more prominent in the course of…