Key Social Work Terms Flashcards
Aberrant
Markedly different from an accepted norm; deviant, atypical or nonconforming.
Abstinence
Practice of not doing something.
(i.e: Aversion Therapy)
Acculturation
Process of individuals or groups acquiring or adopting the cultural traits, practices, and values of another culture while maintaining their own cultural identity
(does not restrict need to change to those in minority.)
Act of Commission
Engaging in an act of malfeasance when knowing the action or omission is illegal.
Act of Omission
Failure to perform a legal duty; social work task that is not done despite the need to do so according to established standard of care.
Acting Out
Emotional conflict is dealt with through actions rather than feelings
(i.e., instead of talking about feeling neglected, a person will get into trouble to get attention).
Active Listening
Technique that involves listening closely and asking questions as needed to fully understand latent and manifest communication, as well as feeling associated with content of message; critical to client-centered therapy.
Acuity
Sharpness or ability, particularly of the mind, vision, or hearing.
Acute
Short or episodic
-Often characterized by high intensity and unanticipated (sudden onset)
Ad Hoc
Created or done for a particular needed purpose
(Occurs temporarily to fulfill a given need)
Advanced Directive
Written statement of wishes regarding medical treatment to ensure those wishes are honored in the event that they cannot be communicated to doctors
(i.e: types of advance directives, include, but are not limited to, living wills, medical powers of attorney and do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders)
Age of Consent
Legal age at which a minor can legally engage in a behavior without parental consent
(varies by jurisdiction and type of activity)
Ageism
Stereotyping based on age (form of discrimination)
Amelioration
Aimed at improving or making better
- Lessoning of symptoms or severity of disease, illness, or disorder
-Eradicating a social problem.
Antecedents
Things or events that existed before or logically precede others
(Often identified as causes of maladaptive behaviors).
Assent
Agreement or approval by someone not able to give legal consent due to age or cognitive ability.
Assimilation
Process of individuals or groups adopting the dominant cultural norms, practices, and values, often leading to the loss or suppression of their own cultural identity.
Atrophy
Decreasing in size and function; shrinkage of muscle or nerve tissue
(Can be caused by aging, inactivity, malnutrition, and other injuries, illnesses, and conditions)
Aversion Therapy
Any treatment aimed at reducing the attractiveness of a stimulus or a behavior by repeated pairing of it with an aversive stimulus.
(An example of this is treating alcoholism with Antabuse.)
Bartering
Acceptance of services, goods or other non-monetary payments from clients in return for services.
(creates the potential for conflicts of interest, exploitation, and inappropriate boundaries in social workers’ relationships with clients; only permissible in very limited cultural contexts)
Baseline
Functioning before the intervention occurs.
Begnin
Not damaging or threatening to life
- Often used to describe growths that are not cancerous.
Beneficence
To act for the benefit of others; moral obligation of helping professionals to do no harm and act in the best interest of others.
Biofeedback
Behavior training program that teaches a person how to control certain functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and muscular tension.
Boundary Violation
Harmful or potentially harmful deviation from established professional standards dictated by professional relationships.
Capacity Building
Intervention aimed at enhancing the abilities or resources of an individual, group, organization, or community.
Capitation
Payment structure used with insurance companies
- Provider or facility is paid a fixed amount for each person
-Risk is taken by entity to deliver services under cost of contract;
-Incentive to provider or facility to promote wellness.
Catchment Area
Geographic area which defines who are eligible for a service or benefit if they meet additional admission requirements (if any established).
Centralization
Consolidation of power or functions within an organization; associated with bureaucracy and “top down” approach to operations.
Chronic
Long standing; persisting for a long time or reoccurring; continual.
Circulatory System
The body’s transport system.
It is made up of a group of organs that transport blood throughout the body.
Civil Disobedience
Nonviolent opposition or protest aimed at making government change; can include refusing to obey certain laws.
Client Self-Monitoring
Form of data-gathering in which clients are asked to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, emotions, body feelings, and behaviors.
Close-Ended Questions
Soliciting information which requires choice from a limited number of options (such as yes/no).
- Used to structure assessment; beneficial when time is limited or specific information required.
Closed System
Uses up its energy and dies.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviors to improve mental health.
Cognitive Dissonance
Holding two beliefs, values, or attitudes that contradict each other.
Cognitive Distortions
Unhealthy thoughts (Inaccurate, irrational views of reality which may serve to assist with coping from adverse events)
Collateral Information
Records or documents associated with the client that are used in the problem-solving process
(may be used to corroborate information provided by the client.)
Collective Bargaining
The process by which unionized employees and their employers negotiate about working conditions, salaries, benefits, and so forth.
Community Development
Focus on enhancing social bonds between and increasing leadership skills of residents, as well as revitalizing local geographic areas.
Comorbid
Existing with or at the same time
(I.e: For instance, having two different illnesses at the same time)
Compassion Fatigue
Stress resulting from working with those who have experienced trauma.
Symptoms include:
apathy, feeling overwhelmed, exhaustion, pessimism, and feeling powerlessness
sometimes referred to as the “cost of caring.”
Compensation
Enables one to make up for real or fancied deficiencies
(i.e., a person who stutters becomes a very expressive writer; a short man assumes a cocky, overbearing manner).
Conflict Resolution
Informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find an acceptable solution to a dispute or disagreement.
Confrontation
Therapeutic technique of calling attention to distorted thinking, behavioral patterns, or ineffective communication so that it can be addressed.
Congruent Comunication
Verbal and nonverbal language and actions provide consistent messages (important for intimacy and emotional connection.)
Conjoint Therapy
Partners in a relationship or members of a family are treated together in joint sessions, instead of being treated separately; also called “conjoint counseling.”
Consent
Legal permission for something to happen or agreement to do something
(Cannot be obtained from those not legally authorized to make decisions).
Consultation
Usually time-limited work or guidance provided due to specialized expertise; advice does not have to be followed (non-binding)
Continuity of Care
Ensuring that there are no gaps or duplication in service.
(Often a focus when moving from one provider to another, or being discharged from a hospital or other inpatient setting).
Continuum of Care
Range of services geared to address varying levels of need from most to least severe
(Needed to appropriately address problems as they get better and/or worse).
Contradicted
Not recommended or safe to use (a medication or treatment that is _____ would not be prescribed because it could have serious consequences).
Control Group
Group that receives no intervention or treatment.
Convalescence
Time spent recovering from an illness, injury, or other medical condition; often referred to a “recuperation.”
Conversion
Repressed urge is expressed as a disturbance of body function, usually of the sensory, voluntary nervous system (as pain, deafness, blindness, paralysis, convulsions, tics).
Cooptation
Strategy for reducing resistance by including opponents in decision making.
(aims to change viewpoints of those who are oppositional)
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Examining the costs associated with service delivery in light of the financial benefits from program outcomes.
Counter Transference
Emotional reaction of helper which can be used to identify the reaction of others to the one being assisted
(Based on the helper’s own psychological needs which are revealed through conscious responses).
Court-Ordered Treatment
Assessment, intervention, or service that is mandated by a judge. (Assisted Outpatient Treatment)
Custodial Care
Assisting others to meet their basic needs and with activities of daily living.
D.A.P Note
- Data
- Assessment
- Plan
Popular standardized format to write psychotherapy or progress notes.
Decentralization
Location of power and decision-making authority with those who are directly working on the frontlines instead of those in upper management positions.
Decompensation
Deterioration of existing defenses.
Deductive Reasoning
“Top down” approach to understanding whether or not an assumption is true.
making an assumption based on widely accepted facts or premises; drawing a conclusion based on reasoning.
Delirium
Disordered thought that can include changes in cognition (disorientation, memory impairment, or language disturbance), hallucinations, restlessness, and misinterpretation of sounds or sights
-Acute state which develops quickly (can fluctuate over a short period; multiple etiologies; usually temporary and treatable.)
Delusion
False, fixed belief despite evidence to the contrary (believing something that is not true).
Dementia
General term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life
(Primarily impacts those over the age of 65; likelihood of developing dementia significantly increases with age.)
Denial
Inability to acknowledge true significance of thoughts, feelings, wishes, behavior, or external reality factors that are consciously intolerable.
Descriptive Statistics
Summary data that provides information about a larger sample or population; mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and so forth.
Desensitization
Gradual reduction in adverse reaction to stimuli due to exposure or as a result of behavioral techniques aimed at reducing anxiety or fear.
Devaluation
A defense mechanism in which a person attributes exaggerated negative qualities to self or another.
It is the split of primitive idealization.
Developmental Disability
Condition occurring before adulthood that results in life-long functional impairment
-May be due to genetic or other disorder present at birth or an accident during childhood that causes significant difficulties with cognition, mobility, and/or other functional domains.
Differential Diagnosis
Process of distinguishing between mental, physical, or other problems that result in similar symptoms or might be causes for behavior.
Differentiation
Becoming specialized in structure and function.
Digestive System
Made up of organs that break down food into protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats, which the body needs for energy, growth, and repair.
Discharge Plan
Structured plan to ensure follow up, safety, and continuity of care after termination
(Often used when leaving inpatient and/or medical facilities; focused on sustaining any progress made and “next steps.”)
Disorientation
Confusion with regard to person, time, or place.
Displacement
Directing an impulse, wish, or feeling toward a person or situation that is not its real object, thus permitting expression in a less threatening situation
(e.g., a man angry at his boss kicks his dog).
Dissociation
Disturbance or change in the usually integrative functions of memory, identity, perception, or consciousness (often seen in clients with a history of trauma).
Dissociation
A process that enables a person to split mental functions in a manner that allows the expression of forbidden or unconscious impulses without taking responsibility for the action, either because the person is unable to remember the disowned behavior, or because it is not experienced
(i.e., pathologically expressed as fugue states, amnesia, or dissociative neurosis, or normally expressed as daydreaming).
Double Bind
Contradictory messages or requests in which affirmatively responding to one negates the other; situation in which any choice results in unpleasant outcome.
Dual Relationship
Having another association with a client, such as friend, family member, intimate partner, coworker, etc. (should be avoided due to boundary violations).
Duty to Warn
Obligation of mental health professionals to inform others of dangerous client behavior; exception to confidentiality to prevent injury to others.
Dysphoria
General sense of dissatisfaction.
Ecological Perspective
Focuses on the interrelationship between individuals and their environment
(emphasis on the interactions between people and the larger contexts in which they exist)
Ego Dystonic
Thoughts, impulses, or wishes that are repugnant or unacceptable to one’s sense of self; sometimes referred to as “ego alien.”
Eitiology
Cause of a behavior, disorder, or disease; root of the problem.
Encopresis
Passage of feces which is involuntary
(may be due to emotional or psychological problems; often treated with behavioral intervention; medical causes should be ruled out.)
Endocrine System
Made up of a group of glands that produce the body’s long-distance messengers, or hormones.
Endogenous Depression
Depression caused by a biochemical imbalance rather than a psychosocial stressor or external factors.
Enmeshed Family
Members have little to no autonomy or personal boundaries.
Entitlement
Feeling that special consideration is deserved
- Right or benefit of a person or group
- Benefit program for which one has the legal right to receive.
Entropy
Closed, disorganized, stagnant; using up available energy.
Enuresis
Urination that is involuntary.
(may be caused by medical problem, which should first be ruled out, or psychological distress.)
Equifinality
Arriving at the same end from different beginnings.
Equilibrium
State of balance or stability.
Equity
Approach to resource allocation in which individuals receive their fair share of the goods and services in society
**distinct from equality which provides each resources to all as equity sometimes required treating people differently from others to compensate to lack of opportunities.
Ethical Dilemma
Situation in which two ethical values or standards conflict with one another.
Ethnocentrism
An orientation that holds one’s own culture, ethnic, or racial group as superior to others.
Exogenous Depression
Depression caused by external events or psychosocial stressors.
Exploitation
Taking unfair advantage of people, situations, etc. for personal benefit.
External Locus of Control
Belief that outcomes are not under one’s control, but rather due to environmental factors, luck, chance, or randomness.
External Validity
Extent to which results are generalizable.
Extinction
Withholding a reinforcer that normally follows a behavior.
Behavior that fails to produce reinforcement will eventually cease.
Extrinsic Rewards
Positive consequence for behavior or action that is not natural.
Face Validity
Accepting the accuracy of a report, instrument, or document based on whether it appears to represent a construct or constructs.
False Negative
Inaccurate test results indicating negative findings (or absence of a condition) when they are really positive (or condition is present).
False Positive
Inaccurate test results indicating positive findings (or presence of a condition) when they are really negative (or condition is not present).
Feasibility Study
Assessment to determine whether goals, objectives, or plans are achievable given available resources
Fee Splitting
Receiving compensation for referrals made to other professionals (unethical in social work practice)
Fee-For-Service
Payment method for services, in which providers set their own fees, that are paid in part or full by recipients and/or insurance companies.
Flooding
A treatment procedure in which a client’s anxiety is extinguished by prolonged real or imagined exposure to high intensity feared stimuli.
Folie à Deux
Shared delusion.
Formative Evaluation
Gathering and analyzing feedback during the development or implementation of a program, project, or product .
(often used to help improve processes)
Free Association
Encourages client to verbalize whatever thoughts come to mind, no matter how embarrassing, illogical, or irrelevant; allows unconscious ideas and feelings to be revealed so they can be interpreted.
Gatekeeping
People, processes, or structures that limit or obstruct access.
(may be tied to perpetuating systems or rationing resources.)
Generativity
Orientation towards making the world a better place for others (benevolence).
Genogram
Diagram illustrating a client’s family members, how they are related, and their medical history.
(Used to see hereditary patterns of behavior and medical and psychological factors that are shared or influential)
Gentrification
Making physical improvements to housing within a neighborhood that result in attracting wealthier individuals to the area
(Displaces long-term residents who cannot afford to live in the gentrified area due to increased property values)
Globalization
Growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information.
Grandiosity
Exaggerated sense of self, importance, or ability
(may be regarded as a delusion of grandeur when extreme).
Group Think
When a group of individuals reaches a consensus without critical evaluation of the consequences or alternatives.
Hallucinations
Hearing, seeing, smelling, or feeling something that is not real (auditory most common).
Harm Reduction
Approach designed to reduce the negative effects of risky behaviors, rather than to eliminate the behaviors altogether.
Hematuria
Presence of blood in a person’s urine.
Characterized as:
- “gross” when blood can be easily seen
- “micro” when it cannot but it is visible under a microscope.
Histrionic Behavior
Manipulative behavior that is dramatic, demanding, self-indulgent, and attention seeking.
Homeostasis
Steady state.
Human Relations Theory
School of organizational thought that emphasizes the importance of social and psychological factors in the workplace as a means of influencing employee productivity.
Hypomaniac
Elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that is less severe than full-blown manic symptoms (not severe enough to interfere with functioning and not accompanied by psychotic symptoms).
ID
Part of the personality that contains the instinctual, biological drives
- most primitive component of the personality
- located in the unconscious
- desire for immediate gratification begins in infancy, until the ego begins to develop.
Idealization
Overestimation of an admired aspect or attribute of another.
Ideas of Reference
Belief that irrelevant or benign things directly refer to oneself or have special personal significance
Ideation
Formation of ideas or beliefs
Identification
Universal mechanism whereby a person pattern themselves after a significant other. Plays a major role in personality development, especially superego development.
Identification with the Aggerssor
Mastering anxiety by identifying with a powerful aggressor (such as an abusing parent) to counteract feelings of helplessness and to feel powerful oneself.
Usually involves behaving like the aggressor (i.e., abusing others after one has been abused oneself).
Impaired Colleague
Coworker whose functioning has deteriorated because of a physical or mental problem, including substance use, disability, death of family or friend, burnout/stress, illness, etc.).
In-Vivo
Conditions that approximate real-life.
(Often used to describe face-to-face encounters)
In-Vivo Desensitization
Pairing and movement through a hierarchy of anxiety, from least to most anxiety provoking situations
takes place in “real” setting.
Incognency
Lack of consistency such as when a subjective assessment is at odds with reality (gap between real and ideal self).
Incontinence
Inability to control urination or secretion of feces.
Incorporation
Primitive mechanism in which psychic representation of a person is (or parts of a person are) figuratively ingested.
Inductive Reasoning
Making broad generalizations from specific observations.
Inferential Statistics
Used to draw conclusions about a population based on sample data.
Informed Consent
Legal permission granted with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits.
Inhibition
Loss of motivation to engage in (usually pleasurable) activity avoided because it might stir up conflict over forbidden impulses
(i.e., writing, learning, or work blocks or social shyness).
Input
Obtaining resources from the environment that are necessary to attain the goals of the system.
Intellectualization
Where the person avoids uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic.
Emotional aspects are completely ignored as being irrelevant.
By using complex terminology, the focus is placed on the words rather than the emotions.
Interdisciplinary
Analyzes, synthesizes and harmonizes links between disciplines into a coordinated and coherent whole
Distinct from multidisciplinary
Intermitten Reinforcement
When only some responses are rewarded.
Internal Locus of Control
Belief that things that happen are greatly influenced by own abilities, actions, or mistakes.
Internal Validity
Confidence that independent variable causes the dependent variable (cause-effect).
Intersectionality
Interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, gender, and class.
(often refers to overlapping systems of discrimination and disadvantage)
Introjection
Loved or hated external objects are symbolically absorbed within self
(i.e., in severe depression, unconscious unacceptable hatred is turned toward self).
Involuntary Commitment
Legal process that results in a person who is deemed a danger to self or others being confined to a hospital or facility without consent.
(length of stay varies depending on continued presence of dangerous behavior; reevaluation occurs regularly.)
Isolation of Affect
Unacceptable impulse, idea, or act is separated from its original memory source, thereby removing the original emotional charge associated with it.
Latent Content
Symbolic or hidden meaning which is not overtly expressed or evident.
Learned Helplessness
Feeling of having no control over a situation which results in behaving in a dependent or powerless manner –> (leads to failure to engage in opportunities to change; prevents activity or action).
Least Restrictive Environment
Conditions which have the fewest controls or those which approximate the settings which would naturally occur.
Lethality
Ability to cause death or serious harm.
Level of Care
Degree of assistance needed by person seeking service.
(Often needed to identify appropriate reimbursement for services; related to medical necessity in health care)
Living Will
Type of advance directive in which medical treatments, procedures, and medications desired and not desired are specified in the event that patients can’t communicate their wishes.
(may be referred to as a “medical directive” or an “advance healthcare directive”)
Locus of Control
Influence over life conditions
- External Locus of Control: regards outcomes as arising from external or situational factors that cannot be influenced
- Internal Locus of Control: regards outcomes as due to one’s own actions and abilities.
Longitudinal Study
Research using data that is gathered on the same subjects, cohort, or population repeatedly over time.
Lymphatic System
A defense system for the body.
- It filters out organisms that cause disease
- produces white blood cells
- generates disease fighting antibodies.
- Distributes fluids and nutrients in the body.
- Drains excess fluids and protein so that tissues do not swell.
Magical Thinking
Belief that one’s own actions influence external events in the environment; often referred to as “superstitious thinking.”
Maleficence
Act of committing harm or evil
Malingering
Exaggerate or feign illness in order to escape duty or work.
(motivation to engage in behavior is intentional with external (secondary) gain.)
Managed Care
Coordination of benefits by a third-party (usually payers) to reduce the cost of providing health care and ensuring continuity of treatment.
Mandated Clients
Those who receive services involuntarily as they have been ordered by courts, legal entities, or government- sanctioned organizations.
Mandatory Reporting
Requirement by law to inform authorities of suspected abuse or neglect. (many apply to treatment of children, older adults, those with cognitive or other disabilities, etc.)
Mania
Extreme state of excitement and overactivity. (Often accompanied by overoptimism, grandiosity, and/or impaired judgment)
- Preoccupation with an activity or idea when used as a suffix.
Manifest Content
Material that is overtly expressed or evident (the dreams, thoughts, or fantasies that are remembered in psychoanalysis.)
Means Test
Method for determining financial eligibility for a benefit, service, or program
(i.e: poverty line often used as benchmark for eligibility; assessment based on income and/or assets.)
Medical Necessity
Services or supplies that are deemed essential to diagnose or treat medical or behavioral conditions according to accepted standards of care.
Mental Status Exam
Assessment of current mental capacity through evaluation of general appearance, behavior, beliefs, mood, and cognition
(attention, orientation, memory, etc.).
Microagression
Prejudiced thoughts or discriminatory actions in indirect, subtle, or unintentional forms.
Mindfullness
Practice of cultivating present-moment awareness and non-judgmental acceptance.
Modeling
Method of instruction that involves an individual (the model) demonstrating the behavior to be acquired by a client.
Morbidity
Rate of disease in a group or population (presence of unhealthiness or psychological state marked by excessive gloom)
Mortality
State of being mortal (destined to die); used for death rate, or the number of deaths in a certain group of people in a certain period of time.
Motivational Interviewing
Counseling approach aimed at helping make changes.
Techniques focus on:
- resolving ambivalence
- eliciting change talk and behavior
- helping utilize internal motivation to make needed changes.
Muscular System
Made up of tissues that work with the skeletal system to control movement of the body.
Mutual Aid
Reciprocal care; approach used with groups of those with same problem or condition who provide peer assistance and/or support.
Needs Assessment
Identifying resources, opportunities, and challenges to address problems or wants
Negative Entropy
Exchange of energy and resources between systems that promote growth and transformation.
Negative Punishment
Removal of a desirable stimulus following a behavior for the purpose of decreasing or eliminating that behavior
(i.e., removing something positive, such as a token or dessert).
Negative Reinforcement
Behavior increases because a negative (aversive) stimulus is removed
(i.e., remove shock).
Negligence
Failure to use reasonable care or caution.
Nervous System
The body’s control system.
- It sends, receives, and processes nerve impulses throughout the body.–> These nerve impulses tell muscles and organs what to do and how to respond to the environment.
- Made up of the brain, the spinal cord, and nerves.
Nonverbal Communication
Information which is generated from gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, etc.
Object Permenance
Understanding that something exists even if it cannot be seen due to the ability to form a mental representation of the object or person.
Time-Out
Removal of something desirable—negative punishment technique.
Ombudsman
An official who investigate, settles, and reports on complaints which can involve violations of human rights or systemic issues
(Often referred to as a “public advocate” when working for a government authority)
Open System
A system with cross-boundary exchange.
Output
A product of the system that exports to the environment.
Over Representation
Disproportionately higher incidence or greater presence of a characteristic than expected.
(i.e: may be desired to ensure inclusion of minority groups; impacts generalizability of findings as proportions do not match what would be found typically or generally)
Overgeneralization
Inappropriately applying conclusions based on one situation to others; falsely predicting outcomes based on past experiences which differ significantly.
Palliative Care
Medical care that focuses on comfort rather than providing a care.
(goal is to reduce the severity of a disease or slow its progress.)
Paradoxical Directive
Prescribing the symptoms or behaviors that are targeted for change (often referred to as “reverse psychology.”)
Paraphrasing
Therapeutic technique of using different words to re-state assertions to improve understanding and help with analyzing meaning.
Parity
Equality between two or more constructs or policies
(Social workers often advocate that mental health care should be treated with same care and funding as physical care).
Partialization
Breaking down issues or processes into incremental steps or actions.
Peer Support
Guidance by individuals with lived experiences to others facing similar challenges, often through mutual sharing and understanding.
Permanency Planning
Assessing and preparing children for long-term care when in out-of-home placements such as with family, resource families, or residential facilities.
Person-In-Environment Perspective
Professional view that examines the mutual interactions and fit between clients and their social environment.
Plauralism
A society in which diverse members maintain their own traditions while cooperatively working together and seeing others’ traits as valuable
Positive Punishment
Presentation of undesirable stimulus following a behavior for the purpose of decreasing or eliminating that behavior
(i.e., hitting, shocking).
Positive Regard
Unconditional acceptance of others without judgment.
Positive Reinforcement
Increases probability that behavior will occur—praising, giving tokens, or otherwise rewarding positive behavior.
Postmorbid
Subsequent to the onset of an illness.
Power of Attorney
Legal authorization for a designated person to make decisions about another person’s property, finances, or medical care.
Premorbid
Prior to the onset of an illness.
Privileged Communication
Legal right to keep professional interactions private (applies to doctor-patient and lawyer-client discussions)
Established in Federal Rules of Evidence in 1996 with the Jaffee v. Redmond - a psychotherapist-patient
Pro-Bono
Provision of services free-of-charge, typically for individuals who cannot afford them.
Professional Development
Activities aimed at advancing skills, traits and competencies that contribute to your success in the workplace.
Prognosis
Prediction of the course, duration, severity, and outcome of a condition, disease, or disorder (helps a client weigh the benefits of different treatment options)
Projection
Attributing one’s disowned attitudes, wishes, feelings, and urges to some external object or person.
Primitive defense
Projective identification
Unconsciously perceiving others’ behavior as a reflection of one’s own identity.
Projective Test
Personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts of the person.
Proxy
Someone who is authorized to act on behalf of another (used to describe a decision or vote made for another)
Psychoeducation
Providing information to those seeking or receiving mental health services and/or their families about the nature of disorders, treatment, and the skills needed to avoid relapse
Psychopathology
Scientific study of mental illness or disorders.
Psychopharmacology
Use of medication to treat mental disorders.
(Some disorders such as those characterized by psychosis, require this approach.)
Psychotic
Experiencing delusions or hallucinations.
Quality Improvement
Ongoing, systematic approach to identifying and addressing areas for improvement in delivery processes and outcomes.
Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)
A cognitively oriented therapy in which a social worker seeks to change a client’s irrational beliefs by argument, persuasion, and rational reevaluation and by teaching a client to counter self-defeating thinking with new, non-distressing self-statements.
Rationalization
Giving believable explanation for irrational behavior; motivated by unacceptable unconscious wishes or by defenses used to cope with such wishes.
Third line of defense; not unconscious.
Reaction Formation
Person adopts affects, ideas, attitudes, or behaviors that are opposites of those they harbor consciously or unconsciously
Reality Testing
Assessing limitations in light of biological, physiological, social, or environmental actualities (distinguish between fantasy and real life).
Reasonable Accommodation
Adjustments to assure that an individual with a disability has rights and privileges equal to those without disabilities.
Recusal
Remove from participation due to conflict or potential conflict of interest (used in law to disqualify a judge or jury by reason of prejudice or conflict of interest).
Referral
Recommendation of a specialized service or practitioner (can involve the act of sending client).
Regression
Partial or symbolic return to more infantile patterns of reacting or thinking.
Can be in service to ego (i.e., as dependency during illness).
Reinforcement
Process in which the frequency or probability of a response is increased (used in operant conditioning).
Relapse
Deterioration after a period of improvement.
Reliability
Consistency in measurement or findings.
Repression
Expressed clinically by amnesia or symptomatic forgetting serving to banish unacceptable ideas, fantasies, affects, or impulses from consciousness.
Reproductive System
Allows humans to produce children.
Respiratory System
Brings air into the body and removes carbon dioxide.
- It includes the nose, trachea, and lungs.
Respite Care
Temporary assistance to persons who need ongoing help to provide relief for regular caregivers (essential to
avoid caregiving burnout).
Restorative Justice
Approach with emphasizes repairing harm caused by criminal behavior (those most affected
by criminal behavior should participate in the process and resolution).
Restricted Funds
Monies or resources that can only be used for an intended purpose specified by the granter or funder.
Risk Assessment
Process of determining the danger that an individual would likely pose to self or others.
Role Ambiguity
Lack of clarity of role.
Role Complimentarity
The role is carried out in an expected way.
(e.g., parent–child; social worker–client).
Role Conflict
Incompatible or conflicting expectations.
Role Discomplimentarity
The role expectations of others differ from one’s own.
Role Reversal
When two or more individuals switch roles.
Rumination
- Being preoccupied with certain obsessive thoughts
- Regurgitating food and then swallowing it
S.M.A.R.T Goals
Objectives that are
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
-Relevant
-Time-bound.
S.O.A.P note
-Subjective
-Objective
-Assessment
-Plan
Format used for reporting in records of those receiving services in healthcare settings
Safety Net
This is often the last resort for individuals and families - programs, services, and/or benefits that assist in meeting basic needs.
Scapegoat
Person blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others.
- (family role focused on creating other problems and concerns, often through misbehavior, to deflect attention away from the real family issue(s)).
Scientific Management Theory
Analyzes workflow to improve economic efficiency, especially labor productivity (attempts to increase the productivity of workers through scientific study and analyzing their movements)
Secondary Prevention
Screening to identify diseases in the earliest stages, before the onset of signs and symptoms, through measures
such as mammography and regular blood pressure testing.
Self Help
Practice of taking personal responsibility and initiative to improve one’s mental, emotional, and physical well-
being.
Self Help
Practice of taking personal responsibility and initiative to improve one’s mental, emotional, and physical well-
being.
Self-Actualization
Full realization of creative, intellectual, and social potential; results from internal drive and external reward
Separation Anxiety
Distress experienced when confronted with actual or imagined disconnection from another (typical part of
child development, but may need intervention if prolonged or intense.)
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter in the brain that is the key to mood regulation.
Shaping
Method used to train a new behavior by prompting and reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior.
Single-Subject Design
Using repeated measurements before and after the introduction of intervention to see variability in thoughts,
feelings, and/or actions. (Stable baseline required before introduction of treatment; ethical issues associated with
intervention withdrawal (reversal designs).
Skeletal System
It shapes the body and protects organs.
- Works with the muscular system to help the body move.
- Made up of bones, ligaments, and tendons.
Social Control
Process of restricting actions of others through policy or interventions (often done to promote public safety)
Social Desirability Bias
Tendency to answer questions in a manner that looks favorably.
(Results in overreporting of good positive answers and underreporting of negative answers)
Social Exchange Theory
Weighing potential benefits versus risks before taking action (change will only occur when benefits are
perceived as being more salient than the risks).
Social Role Theory
Considers most activity to be the acting-out of socially defined categories that have rights, duties, expectations,
norms, and acceptable behaviors.
Social Work Interview
Purposeful conversations between practitioners and clients, involving verbal and nonverbal communication
Somatization
Psychological distress that is unconsciously expressed as physical ailments (counseling can help to address)
- Motivation is unconscious with no apparent gain for the illness or condition.
Specifier
Extension to a formal diagnosis that specifies one or more particular features, like onset or severity.
Splitting
Failure to recognize positive and negative qualities as a cohesive whole
- Symptom of borderline personality disorder
- Cognitive distortion characterized by “all or nothing”
thinking.
Splitting
Defensive mechanism in which a person perceives self and others as “all good” or “all bad.”
Serves to protect the good objects.
Standard of Care
Level and type of service that a reasonably competent and skilled professional, with similar education and
experience, would have provided under the circumstances
Strategic Planning
In-depth process to identify mission, vision, and goals, as well as resources needed to achieve desired
outcomes (Should include clients, employees, and stakeholders)
Stratification
Structured inequality of entire categories of people who have unequal access to social rewards.
Strengths Perspective
Focus on the resources of clients and client systems upon which to build interventions
Sublimation
Potentially maladaptive feelings or behaviors are diverted into socially acceptable, adaptive channels
(i.e., a person who has angry feelings channels them into athletics).
Substitution
Unattainable or unacceptable goal, emotion, or object is replaced by one more attainable or acceptable.
Subsystem
A major component of a system made up of two or more interdependent components that interact in order to attain their own purpose(s) and the purpose(s) of the system in which they are embedded.
Summarizing
Therapeutic technique of consolidating gains, which often includes listing evidence of progress.
Summative Evaluation
Type of evaluation conducted at the end of a program or project, with the goal of assessing its overall
effectiveness.
Superego
Part of the personality that represents internalized societal rules, morals, and values
Supra-System
An entity that is served by a number of component systems organized in interacting relationships
Symbolization
A mental representation stands for some other thing, class of things, or attribute.
This mechanism underlies dream formation and some other symptoms with a link between the latent meaning of the symptom and the symbol; usually unconscious.
System of Care
Collaborative approach that involves multiple service providers, agencies, and community stakeholders to
provide coordinated and comprehensive support to individuals and families.
Systematic Discrimination
Rules, practices, policies, or laws that favor one group over another due to inherent prejudice or bias (results in
perpetuating a lack of opportunities and disadvantages for some within society)
Systemic Desensitization
An anxiety-inhibiting response cannot occur at the same time as the anxiety response.
Anxiety-producing stimulus is paired with relaxation-producing response so that eventually an anxiety-producing stimulus produces a relaxation response.
At each step a client’s reaction of fear or dread is overcome by pleasant feelings engendered as the new behavior is reinforced by receiving a reward.
The reward could be a compliment, a gift, or relaxation.
Systems Theory
Examines clients within the context of their relationships, social systems, and environments, emphasizing the
interconnectedness and interdependence of various factors.
Token Economy
A client receives tokens as reinforcement for performing specified behaviors.
The tokens function as currency within the environment and can be exchanged for desired goods, services, or privileges.
Tarasoff Decision
Landmark California court decision that stipulates that those engaged in psychotherapy have a duty to protect or warn third parties if client poses an imminent and foreseeable threats to them
- Established “duty to warn”mandate
Tardive Dyskinesia
Neurological syndrome that results in repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements (caused by the long-term
use of certain drugs, which are used for the treatment of psychiatric and other conditions)
- Usually treated by stopping or minimizing the use of the offending drug
Task Centered Treatment
Short-term intervention in which problems and goals/activities needed to address them are identified with clear
timeframes for completion; highly structured; client responsible and highly involved in the change effort.
Task Group
Group formed to solve a problem, provide a service, or create a product
Tertiary Prevention
Goals focused on improving quality of life by reducing
limitations or delaying complications
(Intervention with those who are already affected)
Third Party Payers
Monetary reimbursement by insurance companies or government agencies for services provided to clients
Throughput
Energy that is integrated into the system so it can be used by the system to accomplish its goals.
Tolerance
Capacity to endure continued use or exposure without adverse reaction (can increase over time, especially with
regard to drug or alcohol use)
Transference
Emotional reactions by clients in the therapeutic process due to unresolved experiences and/or unconscious thoughts (usually focused on the helper as a result of displacement or projection).
Triangulation
Use of exclusion or threats in a three- person relationship to maintain control (adding a third person to a two-person interaction or relationship to ease tension; often seen in dysfunctional families)
- Use of different data sources in research to increase credibility and confidence in findings
Turning Against Self
Defense to deflect hostile aggression or other unacceptable impulses from another to self.
Unconditional Positive Regard
Involves showing complete support and acceptance of a person no matter what that person says or does
Undoing
A person uses words or actions to symbolically reverse or negate unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or actions
(i.e., a person compulsively washing hands to deal with obsessive thoughts).
Uninvolved Parenting
- Overall sense of indifference by caregivers
- Limited engagement with their children and rarely implement rules (not always intentional, as caregivers are often struggling with their own issues).
Urinary System
Eliminates waste from the body in the form of urine.
The kidneys remove waste from the blood –>The waste combines with water to form urine.
Utilization Review
A process to determine the level of care needed and whether services being delivered are justified (part of quality assurance process; often conducted by third-party payers or insurers).
Validity
- Accuracy of measure or finding
- The extent to which survey or interview appraises what it intends to assess
Vicarious Trauma
Psychological and other distress based on interactions with those who have been traumatized (usually develops over time).
Voucher
Certificate, which allows a recipient to get a designated good or service.
-Usually prescriptive in scope (amount to be received, time frame, etc.)
Withdrawal
Physical and/or psychological removal from a situation, substance, or conditionsymptoms may need immediate attention, including medical monitoring
Xenophobia
Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries or who are different from oneself generally
