Chapter 14 Discovering Psychology Vocabulary

Question 1

The treatment of emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage understanding of problems and modify troubling feelings, behaviors, or relationships.

Answer 1

Psychotherapy

Question 2

The use of medications, electroconvulsive therapy, or other medical treatments to treat the symptoms associated with psychological disorders.

Answer 2

Biomedical therapies

Question 3

Holds an academic doctorate (Ph.D, Psy.D, or Ed.D) and is required to be licensed to practice. Assesses and treats mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. His expertise in psychological testing and evaluation, diagnosis, psychotherapy, research, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders. May work in a private practice, hospitals, or community mental health centers.

Answer 3

Clinical psychologist

Question 4

Holds an academic doctorate and must be licensed to practice. Assesses and treats mental, emotional, and behavioral problems and disorders, but usually disorders that are of lesser severity. The distinction between clinical psychologists and clinical psychologists and counseling psychologists however, has decreased over the years.

Answer 4

Counseling psychologist

Question 5

Holds a medical degree (M.D or D.O.) and is required to be licensed to practice. Has expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders. Often has training in psychotherapy. May prescribe medications, electroconvulsive therapy, or other medical procedures.

Answer 5

Psychiatrist

Question 6

Usually a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist who has received additional training in the specific techniques of psychoanalysis, the form of psychotherapy originated by Sigmund Freud.

Answer 6

Psychoanalyst

Question 7

Holds a master’s degree in counseling, with extensive supervised training in assessment, counseling, and therapy techniques. May be certified in specialty areas. Most states require licensure or certification.

Answer 7

Licensed professional counselor

Question 8

Usually holds a master’s degree in social work (M.S.W.). Training includes an internship in a social service agency or mental health center. Most states require certification or licensing. May or may not have training in psychotherapy.

Answer 8

Psychiatric social worker

Question 9

Usually holds a master’s degree, with extensive supervised experience in couple or family therapy. May also have training in individual therapy. Many states require licensing.

Answer 9

Marriage and family therapist

Question 10

Holds an R.N. degree and has selected psychiatry or mental health nursing as a specialty area. Typically works in a hospital psychiatry unit or in a community mental health center. May or may not have training in psychotherapy.

Answer 10

Psychiatric nurse

Question 11

A type of psychotherapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, or internal conflicts.

Answer 11

Psychoanalysis (in psychotherapy)

Question 12

A psychoanalytic technique in which the patient spontaneously reports all thoughts, feelings, and mental images that arise, revealing unconscious thoughts and emotions.

Answer 12

Free Association

Question 13

In psychoanalysis, the patient’s unconscious attempts to block the revelation of repressed memories and conflicts.

Answer 13

Resistance

Question 14

A technique used in psychoanalysis in which the content of dreams is analyzed for disguised or symbolic wishes, meanings, and motivations.

Answer 14

Dream interpretation

Question 15

A technique used in psychoanalysis in which the psychoanalyst offers a carefully timed explanation of the patient’s dreams, free associations, or behaviors to facilitate the recognition of unconscious conflicts or motivations.

Answer 15

Interpretation

Question 16

In psychoanalysis, the process by which emotions and desires originally associated with a significant person in the patient’s life, such as a parent, are unconsciously transferred onto the psychoanalyst.

Answer 16

Transference

Question 17

Type of psychotherapy that is based on psychoanalytic theory but differs in that it is typically time-limited, has specific goals, and involves an active, rather than neutral, role for the therapist.

Answer 17

Short-term dynamic therapies

Question 18

A brief psychodynamic psychotherapy that focuses on current relationships and is based on the assumption that symptoms are caused and maintained by interpersonal problems.

Answer 18

Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

Question 19

A type of psychotherapy developed by humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers in which the therapist is non directive and reflective, and the client directs the focus of each therapy session.

Answer 19

Client-centered therapy (Person-centered therapy)

Question 20

A type of psychotherapy that focuses on directly changing maladaptive behavior patterns by using basic learning principals and techniques.

Answer 20

Behavior therapy (behavior modification)

Question 21

A behavior therapy technique based on classical conditioning that involves modifying behavior by conditioning a new response that is incompatible with a previously learned response.

Answer 21

Counterconditioning

Question 22

Behavioral therapy for phobias, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or related anxiety disorders in which the person is repeatedly exposed to the disturbing object or situation under controlled conditions.

Answer 22

Exposure therapy

Question 23

A type of behavior therapy in which phobic responses are reduced by pairing relaxation with a series of mental images or real-life situations that the person finds progressively more fear-provoking; based on the principal of counterconditioning.

Answer 23

Systematic desensitization

Question 24

A relatively ineffective type of behavior therapy that involves repeatedly pairing an aversive stimulus with the occurrence of undesirable behaviors or thoughts.

Answer 24

Aversive conditioning

Question 25

A form of behavior therapy in which the therapeutic environment is structured to reward desired behaviors with tokens or points that may eventually be exchanged for tangible rewards.

Answer 25

Token economy

Question 26

A group of psychotherapies based on the assumption that psychological problems are due to illogical patterns of thinking; treatment techniques focus on recognizing and altering these unhealthy thinking patterns.

Answer 26

Cognitive therapies

Question 27

A type of cognitive therapy, developed by psychologist Albert Ellis, that focuses on changing the client’s irrational beliefs.

Answer 27

Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

Question 28

Therapy developed by Aron T. Beck that focuses on changing the client’s unrealistic and maladaptive beliefs.

Answer 28

Cognitive therapy (CT)

Question 29

Drawing a negative conclusion when there is little or no evidence to support it.

Answer 29

Arbitrary inference

Question 30

Focusing on a single negative detail taken out of context and ignoring the more important aspects of the situation.

Answer 30

Selective abstraction

Question 31

Drawing a sweeping, global conclusion based on an isolated incident and applying that conclusion to other unrelated areas of life.

Answer 31

Overgeneralization

Question 32

Grossly overestimating the impact of negative events and grossly underestimating the impact of positive events so that small, bad events are magnified, but good, large events are minimized.

Answer 32

Magnification and minimization

Question 33

Taking responsibility, blaming oneself, or applying external events to oneself when there is no basis or evidence for making the connection.

Answer 33

Personalization

Question 34

Therapy that integrates cognitive and behavioral techniques and that is based on the assumption that thoughts, moods, and behaviors are interrelated.

Answer 34

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Question 35

A form of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working simultaneously with a small group of clients.

Answer 35

Group therapy

Question 36

A form of psychotherapy that is based on the assumption that the family is a system and that treats the family as a unit.

Answer 36

Family therapy

Question 37

The pragmatic and integrated used of techniques from different psychotherapies.

Answer 37

Eclecticism

Question 38

Drugs that alter mental functions, alleviate psychological symptoms, and are used to treat psychological or mental disorders.

Answer 38

Psychotropic medications

Question 39

Prescription drugs that are used to reduce psychotic symptoms; frequently used in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Answer 39

Antipsychotic medications (neuroleptics)

Question 40

Newer antipsychotic medications that, in contrast with the early antipsychotic drugs, block dopamine receptors in brain regions associated with psychotic symptoms rather than more globally throughout the brain, resulting in fewer side effects.

Answer 40

Atypical antipsychotic medications

Question 41

Prescription drugs that are used to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety.

Answer 41

Antianxiety medications

Question 42

A naturally occurring substance that is used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Answer 42

Lithium

Question 43

Prescription drugs that are used to reduce the symptoms associated with major depressive disorder.

Answer 43

Antidepressant medications

Question 44

Class of antidepressant medications that increase the availability of serotonin in the brain and cause fewer side effects than earlier antidepressants; they include prozac, paxil, and zoloft.

Answer 44

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

Question 45

A biomedical therapy used primarily in the treatment of major depressive disorder that involves electronically inducing a brief brain seizure.

Answer 45

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (Electroshock therapy)