Glossary of Technical Terms

Question 1

affect

Answer 1

The external, perceivable signifiers of a clients emotional experience.

A pattern of observable behaviors that is the expression of a subjectively experienced feeling state (emotion).

Question 2

blunted (affect)

Answer 2

Significant reduction in the intensity of emotional expression.

Question 3

flat (affect)

Answer 3

Absence or near absence of any sign of affective expression.

Question 4

inappropriate (affect)

Answer 4

affect doesn’t match mood or topic

Discordance between affective expression and the content of speech or ideation.

Question 5

labile (affect)

Answer 5

Abnormal variability in affect with repeated, rapid, and abrupt shifts in affective expression.

Question 6

restricted or constricted (affect)

Answer 6

Mild reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression.

Question 7

agnosia

Answer 7

Loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells, that occurs in the absence of either impairment of the specific sense or significant memory loss.

Question 8

amnesia

Answer 8

An inability to recall important autobiographical information that is inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.

Question 9

anhedonia

Answer 9

Lack of enjoyment from, engagement in, or energy for life’s experiences; deficits in the capacity to feel pleasure and take interest in things.

XX is a facet of the broad personality trait domain Detachment

Question 10

anosognosia

Answer 10

A condition in which a person with an illness seems unaware of the existence of his or her illness.

Question 11

antagonism

Answer 11

Behaviors that put a person at odds with other people, such as an exaggerated sense of self-importance with a concomitant expectation of special treatment, as well as a callous antipathy toward others, encompassing both unawareness of others’ needs and feelings, ad a readiness to use others in the service of self-enhancement.

XX is one of the five broad personality trait domains.

Question 12

antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

Answer 12

A set of symptoms that can occur after abrupt cessation, or marked reduction in dose, of an antidepressant medication that had been taken continuously for at least 1 month.

Question 13

anxiety

Answer 13

The apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, and/or somatic symptoms of tension. The focus of anticipated danger may be internal of external.

Question 14

anxiousness

Answer 14

Feelings of nervousness or tenseness in reaction to diverse situations; frequent worry about the negative effects of past unpleasant experiences and future negative possibilities; feeling fearful and apprehensive about uncertainty; expecting the worst to happen.

XX is a facet of the broad personality trait domain Negative Affectivity.

Question 15

arousal

Answer 15

The physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli.

Question 16

asociality

Answer 16

A reduced initiative for interacting with other people.

Question 17

attention

Answer 17

The ability to focus in a sustained manner on a particular stimulus or activity. A disturbance in attention may be manifested by easy distractibility or difficulty in finishing tasks or in concentrating on work.

Question 18

attention seeking

Answer 18

Engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and make oneself the focus of others’ attention and admiration.

XX is a facet of the broad personality trait domain Antagonism.

Question 19

autogynephilia

Answer 19

Sexual arousal of a natal male associated with the idea or image of being a woman.

Question 20

avoidance

Answer 20

The act of keeping away from the stress-related circumstances; a tendency to circumvent cues, activities, and situations that remind the individual of a stressful event experienced.

Question 21

avolition

Answer 21

An inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities.

When severe enough to be considered pathological, XX is pervasive and prevents the person from completing many different types of activities. (e.g. work, intellectual pursuits, self-care)

Question 22

bereavement

Answer 22

The state of having lost through death someone with whom one has had a close relationship. This state includes a range of grief and mourning responses.

Question 23

callousness

Answer 23

Lack of concern for the feelings of problems of others; lack of guilt or remorse about the negative or harmful effects of one’s actions on others.

XX is a facet of the broad personality trait domain Antagonism.