Author: Glossary
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Catapres
Brand name for the alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist drug clonidine.
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Cataplexy
Sudden loss of postural tone without loss of consciousness, typically triggered by some emotional stimulus such as laughter, anger, or excitement. It is a characteristic of narcolepsy. A condition in which a person’s muscles become suddenly rigid and he or she falls without losing consciousness, possibly caused by a shock. Sudden brief loss of muscle…
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Castration anxiety
Anxiety due to fantasized danger or injuries to the genitals and/or body. This fear is most intense in children ages 4–6 years but continues unconsciously through life and may be precipitated by everyday events that have symbolic significance and appear to be threatening, such as loss of a job, or an experience of ridicule or…
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Castration
Removal of the sex organs. In psychological terms, the fantasized loss of the genitals. Also used metaphorically to denote a state of impotence, powerlessness, helplessness, or defeat. The surgical removal of the gonads. The surgical removal of the sexual organs, usually the testicles, in males. Surgical removal of the testes or ovaries, usually done to…
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Case management
In general, the process of following up a patient through various types of treatment and helping with care. It also refers to a type of health care delivery with emphasis on the development of alternative treatment plans for patients who have been identified (by preadmission certification, diagnosis, etc.) As potentially high-cost cases. Once such a…
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Caregiver
Any person involved in the treatment or rehabilitation of a patient; includes the psychiatrist and other members of the traditional treatment team as well as community workers and other nonprofessionals. Someone responsible for a child’s health and welfare, and for meeting the child’s basic physical and psychological needs. Caretakers include those who have full-time legal…
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Carbidopa-levodopa
A combined medication (of which levodopa is the agent that primarily targets the brain) used to treat idiopathic parkinson’s disease. The combination allows greater amounts of levodopa to reach the brain, where it is converted to dopamine, resulting in increased dopamine levels, specifically in the dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway. Marketed under the brand…
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Carbidopa
An agent used (usually in combination with levodopa) to treat idiopathic parkinson’s disease. Carbidopa blocks the peripheral conversion of levodopa to dopamine, allowing greater amounts of levodopa to penetrate the brain. Because carbidopa does not itself cross the blood-brain barrier to any significant extent, it does not inhibit the conversion of levodopa to dopamine within…
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Carbamazepine
An anticonvulsant and analgesic medication used in psychiatry as a mood stabilizer to treat bipolar disorders. Marketed under the brand name tegretol; may also be known by the discontinued brand name equetro. A drug which reduces pain and helps to prevent convulsions. It is used in the treatment of epilepsy, pain and bipolar disorder. A…
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Capitation
A uniform payment based on the number of people in the population being served. The health or mental health care provider, or group of providers, accepts responsibility to deliver the health or mental health services needed by all members of a specified group, and an agreed-on payment is made at regular intervals to the provider.…