Author: Glossary

  • Phencyclidine-related disorders

    in dsm-iv-tr, a group of mental disorders that includes Phencyclidine (PCP) (or related substance) dependence; pcp abuse; pcp intoxication; PCP intoxication delirium; PCP-induced psychotic disorder, with delusions or hallucinations; PCP-induced mood disorder; and PCP-induced anxiety disorder.  

  • Phase-of-life problem

    Phase-of-life problem

    Difficulty in adapting to a particular developmental phase that is not due to a mental disorder. Some examples are entering school, leaving parental control, and starting a new career. Other examples are the changes involved in marriage, divorce, or retirement.  

  • Pharmacotherapy

    The treatment of a disease through the use of pharmaceutical agents. The use of drugs to treat conditions, especially psychiatric disorders. The use of medicine in treatment of disease.  

  • Pharmacogenomics

    The interaction between genetic factors and therapeutic drugs. This term applies to the study of variability in the genetic basis of disease susceptibility and drug responses at a population level. The study of the relationship between a person’s genetic makeup and response to drug treatments. Also termed pharmacogenetics the use of human genetic variations to…

  • Pharmacogenetics

    The interaction between genetic factors and therapeutic drugs. Generally, the term is used to describe the study of the genetic bases for individual responses to drugs. Psychiatric pharmacogenetics is a burgeoning area, which constitutes a major arm of current psychiatric research. Ultimately, the goal is to use the patient’s genotype to predict both the response…

  • Phantom limb

    Phantom limb

    A phenomenon frequently experienced by amputees in which sensations, often painful, appear to originate in the amputated extremity. A condition in which someone seems to feel sensations in a limb which has been amputated. The sensation that an arm or leg, or part of an arm or leg, is still attached to the body after…

  • Pexeva

    Brand name for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant drug paroxetine mesylate.  

  • Pet therapy

    Pet therapy

    The use of tranquil domestic animals (e.g., dogs and cats) to provide comfort and solace to patients with dementia or major psychiatric disorders during visits conducted by a person overseeing the animals.  

  • Perversion

    An imprecise term used to designate sexual variance. Sexual deviation. A form of behaviour which is thought to be unnatural, dangerous or disgusting. Action considered unnatural or abnormal, especially a sexual activity deviating from what is considered normal. Any abnormal sexual behavior. (An equivalent term with less derogatory implications is deviation.) The abnormality may be…

  • Persuasion

    A therapeutic approach based on direct suggestion and guidance intended to influence favorably patients’ attitudes, behaviors, and goals. The act of influencing the thinking or behavior of others.