biological therapies | Also called biomedical therapies, treatments that reduce or eliminate the symptoms of psychological disorders by altering aspects of body functioning.
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antianxiety drugs | Commonly known as tranquilizers, drugs that reduce anxiety by making individuals calmer and less excitable.
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antidepressant drugs | Drugs that regulate mood.
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lithium | The lightest of the solid elements in the periodic table of elements, widely used to treat bipolar disorder.
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antipsychotic drugs | Powerful drugs that diminish agitated behavior, reduce tension, decrease hallucinations, improve social behavior, and produce better sleep patterns in individuals with a severe psychological disorder, especially schizophrenia.
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electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) | Also called shock therapy a treatment, commonly used for depression, that sets off a seizure in the brain.
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deep brain stimulation | A procedure for treatment-resistant depression that involves the implantation of electrodes in the brain that emit signals to alter the brain's electrical circuitry.
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psychosurgery | A biological therapy, with irreversible effects, that involves removal or destruction of brain tissue to improve the individual's adjustment.
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psychotherapy | A nonmedical process that helps individuals with psychological disorders recognize and overcome their problems.
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psychodynamic therapies | Treatments that stress the importance of the unconscious mind, extensive interpretation by the therapist, and the role of early childhood experiences in the development of an individual's problems.
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psychoanalysis | Freud's therapeutic technique for analyzing an individual's unconscious thoughts.
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free association | A psychoanalytic technique that involves encouraging individuals to say aloud whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.
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interpretation | A psychoanalyst's search for symbolic, hidden meanings in what the client says and does during therapy.
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dream analysis | A psychoanalytic technique for interpreting a person's dreams.
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transference | A client's relating to the psychoanalyst in ways that reproduce or relive important relationships in the individual's life.
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resistance | A client's unconscious defense strategies that interfere with the psychoanalyst's understanding of the individual's problems.
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humanistic therapies | Treatments, unique in their emphasis on people's self-healing capacities, that encourage clients to understand themselves and to grow personally.
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client-centered therapy | Also called Rogerian therapy or nondirective therapy, a form of humanistic therapy, developed by Rogers, in which the therapist provides a warm, supportive atmosphere to improve the client's self-concept and to encourage the client to gain insight into problems.
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reflective speech | A technique in which the therapist mirrors the client's own feelings back to the client.
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behavior therapies | Treatments, based on the behavioral and social cognitive theories of learning, that use principles of learning to reduce or eliminate maladaptive behavior.
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systematic desensitization | A method of behavior therapy that treats anxiety by teaching the client to associate deep relaxation with increasingly intense anxiety-producing situations.
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cognitive therapies | Treatments that point to cognitions (thoughts) as the main source of psychological problems and that attempt to change the individual's feelings and behaviors by changing cognitions.
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rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) | A therapy based on Ellis's assertion that individuals develop a psychological disorder because of irrational and self-defeating beliefs and whose goal is to get clients to eliminate these beliefs by rationally examining them.
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cognitive-behavior therapy | A therapy that combines cognitive therapy and behavior therapy with the goal of developing self-efficacy.
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integrative therapy | A combination of techniques from different therapies based on the therapist's judgment of which particular methods will provide the greatest benefit for the client.
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group therapy | A sociocultural approach to the treatment of psychological disorders that brings together individuals who share a particular psychological disorder in sessions that are typically led by a mental health professional.
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family therapy | Group therapy with family members.
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couples therapy | Group therapy with married or unmarried couples whose major problem lies within their relationship.
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therapeutic alliance | The relationship between the therapist and client—an important element of successful psychotherapy.
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well-being therapy (WBT) | A short-term, problem-focused, directive therapy that encourages clients to accentuate the positive.
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