Author: Glossary

Referring to adaptation by altering the external environment. An approach in psychotherapy with the goal of effecting changes in the external environment. Contrast with autoplastic, which refers to the alteration of one’s own behavior and responses.  

The oldest part of the cerebral cortex that includes the olfactory cortex and the hippocampus.  

A member of a nonmedical profession whose functions traditionally include involvement in the prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation process. In psychiatry, examples include the psychiatric nurse, psychiatric social worker, clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, occupational therapist, and art therapist. A person with special training, working under the supervision of a health professional with responsibilities bearing on patient care.…

Obsolete term for a psychiatrist who testifies in court about a person’s sanity or mental competence. In law, a psychiatrist giving expert testimony in a medico-legal trial.    

An unusual neurological disorder in which one of the sufferer’s hands seems to take on a mind of its own. It is best documented in cases where a person has had the two hemispheres of the brain surgically separated, a procedure sometimes used to relieve the symptoms of extreme cases of epilepsy. The syndrome also…

The estrangement felt in a cultural setting one views as foreign, unpredictable, or unacceptable. For example, in depersonalization phenomena, feelings of unreality or strangeness produce a sense of alienation from one’s self or environment. In obsessions, where there is fear of one’s emotions, avoidance of situations that arouse emotions, and continuing effort to keep feelings…

An unusually intense fear of pain. Morbid or excessive fear and sensitivity to pain. The dread of experiencing or observing suffering or pain.  

A disturbance in affective and cognitive function that may occur in several disorders; it is common in psychosomatic disorders, addictive disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The chief manifestations are difficulty in describing or recognizing one’s own emotions, a limited fantasy life, and general constriction in the affective life. The inability to express or describe…

Loss of a previously possessed ability to grasp the meaning of written or printed words and sentences that cannot be explained by defective visual acuity. Loss of ability to understand the written language. The loss of the ability to read or an initial inability to learn to read due to brain damage. A condition in…