Author: Glossary

A numerical rating determined through psychological testing that indicates the approximate relationship of a person’s mental age (MA) to chronological age (CA). Expressed mathematically as IQ=[MA/CA]×100. A ratio measure to indicate whether a person’s mental age (MA) is ahead of or behind the chronological age (CA) The formula for determining is as follows: IQ — MA…

The capacity of the mind for abstract thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and learning. May be affected by emotions. Capacity to learn and to utilize appropriately what one has learned. The capacity to learn and the capacity to use appropriately that which is learned. The ability to learn and understand quickly, to apply experience, and to…

A mental defense mechanism in which the person engages in excessive abstract thinking to avoid confrontation with conflicts or disturbing feelings. It may be associated with obsessional or paranoid thinking. The utilization of reasoning as a defense against confrontation with unconscious conflicts and their stressful emotions. A defense mechanism. In psychiatry, defense mechanism in which reasoning…

A disorder characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more areas of adaptive functioning (conceptual skills, social skills, daily living skills), with onset before 18 years of age. Intellectual disability is usually defined as an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 70 or below. Also referred to as mental retardation. A notable decline…

The initial interview between a patient and a member of a psychiatric team in a mental health facility. The amount of a substance taken in. The process of taking in a substance. Quantity of food, or of any nutrient in it, that is consumed. That which is taken in, especially food and liquids.  

Injection of insulin in sufficient quantity to produce profound hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) resulting in coma. First used in 1933 in the treatment of schizophrenia, it is rarely used today.  

Long-term placement of an individual into a hospital, nursing home, residential center, or other facility where independent living is restricted in varying degrees. Admission of an individual to an institution, such as a nursing home, where he or she will reside for an extended period of time or indefinitely. Admission of a person to an…

An inborn drive. The primary human instincts include self-preservation, sexuality, and—according to some proponents—the death instinct, of which aggression is one manifestation. A behavior pattern whose underlying biological pattern is produced by maturation rather than learning and which appears full-blown upon the first occasion that an adequate stimulus is presented, with out the organism having…

A form of therapy that is based on the concepts of psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) but uses slightly different techniques and time frames. Treatment involves the therapist assisting patients to gain new or improved understanding and insight into the possible explanations for their feelings, responses, behaviors, and current relationships with other people.…

A feeling of helplessness against anxiety arising from uncertainty about one’s goals, ideals, abilities, and/or relationships. An emotional feeling that makes a person feel unprotected or uncertain about what to do in a given situation. Insecurity is normal among children, adolescents, and adults in a new situation or at times of crisis or high stress,…