Glossary of Common Terms

Anosognosia:

A neurocognitive condition in which people are unaware of their neurological or psychiatric diagnosis and/or signs and symptoms. It is found in people with mental illness and neurological disorders and is associated with lesions in both the non-dominant hemisphere and frontal cortex of the brain.

Antidepressant:

Medication used to treat depression and other mood and anxiety disorders.

Antipsychotic:

Medication used to treat psychosis spectrum disorders that especially targets delusions and hallucinations, among other symptoms.

Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT):

The practice of providing community-based mental health treatment under civil court commitment as a means to (1) motivate adults with mental illness who struggle with voluntary treatment adherence to engage fully with their treatment plan, (2) focus the attention of treatment providers on the need to work diligently to keep people engaged in effective treatment and (3) divert individuals into treatment without ordering them into a hospital. This option is a less restrictive, less expensive, and more humane form of “commitment” than inpatient commitment.

Auditory hallucinations:

A false auditory perception. Hearing something that is not real.

Bipolar disorder (manic depression):

A disorder that causes severe and unusually high and low shifts in mood, energy, sleep and activity levels as well as unusual shifts in the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. This disorder is often associated with psychotic symptoms: in particular, grandiose delusions.

Chronic:

Persisting for a long time or constantly recurring.

Clinical trial:

A scientific study using human volunteers (also called participants) that looks at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Treatments may include new drugs or new combinations of drugs, psychotherapies, new surgical procedures or devices, or new ways of using existing treatments.

Cognition:

Conscious mental activities such as thinking, communicating, understanding, solving problems, processing information and remembering. These activities are associated with gaining knowledge, planning, making judgments and understanding.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):

A psychotherapy treatment that helps people focus on solving current problems. A therapist helps the patient learn to identify distorted or unhelpful thinking patterns, recognize and change inaccurate beliefs, relate to others in more positive ways, and change behaviors accordingly.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBT-P):

Cognitive behavioral therapy that specifically addresses symptoms of psychosis spectrum disorders.

Cognitive impairment:

Experiencing difficulty with cognition, such as having trouble paying attention, thinking clearly or remembering new information.

Cognitive remediation:

Training designed to strengthen underlying brain functions that help support cognitive skills such as memory, attention and problem solving through a variety of techniques including computer exercises and adaptive strategies to improve cognition.

Comorbidity:

The existence of two or more physical or mental illnesses in the same person.

Coordinated specialty care (CSC) for first episode psychosis:

A type of treatment that uses a team of specialists to create a personal treatment plan. Specialists offer psychotherapy, medication management, CSC case management, family education/support and supported employment/education, depending on a person’s needs and preferences. The patient and this team work together to make treatment decisions, involving family members as much as possible.

Delusions:

Fixed false beliefs not shared by the person’s culture or subculture.

Depression:

Lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities, sadness, feelings of worthlessness, or excessive guilt severe enough to interfere with work, sleep, school, appetite and quality of life.

Dual diagnosis:

A co-existing mental health disorder and alcohol or drug problem.

Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP):

The length of time between the beginning symptoms of psychosis spectrum disorders and the beginning of antipsychotic treatment.

Early intervention:

Diagnosing and treating a mental illness when it first develops.

Early treatment program (RAISE-ETP):

A study that compares a coordinated specialty care program for first episode psychosis spectrum disorders (called NAVIGATE) to the care typically found in community clinics.

Evidence-based practice:

Treatments supported by published, peer-reviewed clinical research.

Family education/support:

An element of coordinated specialty care that teaches family members and friends about first episode psychosis and helps them support the patient’s recovery.

First episode psychosis (FEP):

The first time an individual experiences an episode of psychosis.

Hallucinations:

Hearing, seeing, physically feeling, smelling or tasting things that are not real.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA):

A federal law requiring the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

Individual resiliency training (IRT):

One part of the NAVIGATE treatment program that promotes recovery by identifying client strength and resiliency factors, enhancing illness management, and teaching skills to help functional recovery in order to achieve and maintain personal wellness.

Inpatient:

Healthcare treatment for someone who is admitted to a hospital.

Intervention:

An action intended to help treat or cure a condition.

Long-acting injectable (LAI):

An injection of antipsychotic medication administered only once or twice a month or once every three months. LAIs are an alternative to daily oral doses of medication.

Mania:

An abnormally elevated euphoric or irritable mood associated with bipolar disorder.

Manic depression:

See “Bipolar Disorder”.

Mood disorders:

Mental disorders primarily affecting a person’s mood.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

The nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization. NAMI is one of over 80 national nonprofit organizations that participate in the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):

The lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. NIMH is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s medical research agency. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

NAVIGATE:

A coordinated specialty care treatment program for people experiencing first episode psychosis. NAVIGATE is a team-based approach for treatment options that include medication management, case management, individual resiliency training, family psychoeducation, and supported employment/education.

Negative symptoms:

Symptoms of schizophrenia that result in a loss or diminishment of normal functions. Examples include social withdrawal, loss of interest in usually pleasureable activities of everday life, low energy, emotional flatness, poor grooming and hygiene, poverty of speech and reduced ability to concentrate and remember.

OnTrackNY:

A coordinated specialty care treatment program in New York for youth and young adults experiencing first episode psychosis. OnTrackNY is based on the work of Lisa Dixon and her team on the RAISE Implementation and Evaluation Study (RAISE-IES), part of the RAISE research study.

Outpatient:

Healthcare treatment provided outside of hospitals.

Pharmacotherapy:

Treatment with medicines.

Positive symptoms:

Psychotic symptoms that reflect a disinhibition of normal functions. Examples include hallucinations (e.g., hearing and seeing things that are not real), delusions and disorganized speech and behaviors.

Psychoeducation:

Learning about mental illness and ways to communicate, solve problems, and cope.

Psychosis:

Conditions that affect the mind and cause some loss of contact with reality. During a period of psychosis, a person’s thoughts and perceptions are disturbed and the individual may have difficulty understanding what is real and what is not. Symptoms of psychosis spectrum disorders include delusions, hallucinations, incoherent or nonsense speech, behavior that is inappropriate for the situation, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and difficulty functioning overall.

Psychosocial interventions:

Non-medication therapies for people with mental illness and their families including psychotherapy, acquiring new coping skills, social skills training, supported employment and education services.

Psychotherapy:

Treatment that includes talking about problems rather than using medication. Treatment for first episode psychosis is based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles and emphasizes resilience training, illness and wellness management, and coping skills.

Recovery:

The process by which people with mental illness return or begin to work, learn and participate in their communities. For some individuals and their families, recovery means the ability to live a fulfilling and productive life either free of symptoms or with minimal symptoms.

Schizoaffective disorder:

A mental condition that causes both a loss of contact with reality (psychosis spectrum disorders) and mood problems (depression or mania).

Schizophrenia:

A severe brain disorder that appears in late adolescence or early adulthood and includes symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, confusion, agitation, social withdrawal and/or extremely odd behavior.

Schizophreniform disorder:

Symptoms consistent with schizophrenia but that last less than six months.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):

The agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD):

An abnormal involuntary movement disorder. TD can be a side effect of antipsychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia and related disorders. TD causes stiff, jerky, uncontrollable movements in the face and body.

AdobeStock_117959885_web

We believe in recovery and a cure for schizophrenia.
Join us on this journey today.

Thanks to a generous donor, your gift will be matched, up to $25,000, and your impact doubled to help S&PAA’s critical work.

We believe in recovery and a cure for schizophrenia. Donate today.