Psychology - Chapter 16 - Psychological and Biological Treatments - Important Definitions

a psychological intervention designed to help people resolve emotional, behavioural, and interpersonal problems and improve the quality of their lives

person with no professional training who provides mental health services

psychotherapies, including psychodynamic, humanistic, and group approaches, with the goal of expanding awareness or insight

technique in which clients express themselves without censorship of any sort

attempts to avoid confrontation and anxiety associated with uncovering previously repressed thoughts, emotions, and impulses

projecting intense, unrealistic feelings

treatment that strengthens social skills and targets interpersonal problems, conflicts, and life transitions

therapies that emphasize the development of human potential and the belief that human nature is basically positive

therapy centring on the client’s goals and ways of solving problems

therapy that aims to integrate different and sometimes opposing aspects of personality into a unified sense of self

therapy that treats more than one person at a time

12 step, self-help program that provides social support for achieving sobriety

family therapy approach designed to remove barriers to effective communication

treatment in which therapists deeply involve themselves in family activities to change how family members arrange and organize interactions

therapists who focus on specific problem behaviours and on current variables that maintain problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviours

patients are taught to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear in a stepwise manner

therapy that confronts patients with what they fear with the goal of reducing the fear

research procedure for examining the effectiveness of isolated components of a larger treatment

technique in which therapists prevent clients from performing their typical avoidance behaviours

technique in which the therapist first models a problematic situation and then guides the client through steps to cope with it unassisted

method in which desirable behaviours are rewarded with tokens that clients can exchange for tangible rewards

treatment that uses punishment to decrease the frequency of undesirable behaviours

treatments that attempt to replace maladaptive or irrational cognitions with more adaptive, rational cognitions

statistical method that helps researchers to interpret large bodies of psychological literature

intervention for specific disorders supported by high-quality scientific evidence

use of medications to treat psychological problems

patients receive brief electrical pulses to the brain that produce a seizure to treat serious psychological problems

brain surgery to treat psychological problems