Terminology-Definitions of Pertinent Terms

Cooptation

A community organizer's strategy for minimizing anticipated opposition by absorbing or including the opponent in the group membership

Congruent

In harmony with or concordant to what would generally be considered proper, reasonable or appropriate.

Double Bind

Interaction in which on person demands a response to a message containing mutually contradictory signals while the other person is unable either to comment on the incongruity or to escape the situation: Family Therapy

Schizophrenogenic

Refers to an individual who develops schizophrenia in others. Usually refers to the mother.

Ego-syntonic

Refers to the acceptability of ideas or impulses to the ego, which receives the impulses as consonant and compatible with its principles.

Dynamic Equilibrium

Refers to the interplay of forces in an open system which may give the appearance of being at rest, but it is forever changing, i.e. the family system.

Complentarity

Relational form denoting a complementary functioning together such as a dominant submission pattern. These functional roles are not always healthy.

Contingency

Relationship, usually casual between two events in which one is usually followed by another.

Anal Dependency

Retention of features related to the anal stages of psychology development. Traits are orderliness, obstinacy, stubbornness, frugality, willfulness, and parsimony.

Oral Dependency

Retention of features related to the oral stage of psychosexual development; traits such as excessive optimism, narcissism, pessimism or demandingness. Excessively dependent on objects or other for self-esteem. Often envious or jealous.

Contingency Contract/Management

Specifying which behaviors are expected and what reinforces will follow. Used with operant conditioning (Skinner)

Antecedent Behavior

Stimulus that elicits behavior. What happens just prior to the behavior observed by the therapist.

Shaping

The method of successive approximation. Delivering reinforcement For small steps increments toward the desired behavior.

Gestalt Therapy

The natural course of biological and psychological development of the organism. Entails a full awareness of physical sensations and psychological needs. Concerned primarily with perceptual processes.

Homeostasis

The tendency of an organism to maintain a constancy and stability of its own-the status quo

Classical Conditioning

a form of learning in which existing responses are attached to a new stimuli by pairing those stimuli with those that naturally elicit the response. The previous neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response, example: Pavlov and his dogs.

Individuation

a process of differentiation, having for its goal the development of the individual personality; development of the psychological individual as a differentiated being.

Extinction

a term in classical conditioning meaning repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus and the resulting gradual decrease of the conditioned response. In "operant conditioning" extinction occurs when reinforcement is withheld following performance of a previously reinforced response.

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which responses are modified by their consequences. The correct response is reinforced and more likely to occur again. Reinforcement increases the likelihood of future occurrences of the reinforced response. punishment and extinction decreases the likelihood of future occurrences of the behavior.

Pseudomutality

an artificial closeness in some families which fosters dependence and loss of self-identity.

Expert Consensus Guidelines

are derived from a broad based survey of expert opinion and consist of a compilation of practical treatment recommendations for the treatment of major disorders.

Reframing

the cognitive relabeling of an event. Term used in a family therapy making a former negative even appear positive. Redescribing an event in a way that it can be solved.

Practice Guidelines

A set of systematically compiled and organized statements and recommendations for clinical care based on research findings and the consensus of experienced clinicians with expertise in a given practice area.

Paradoxical Intention

A therapeutic strategy in which the client is instructed to engage in or magnify the behaviors of concern. A therapeutic practice sometimes known as prescribing the symptoms.

Ego-Dystonic

Anything that us unacceptable to the ego

Stimulus Control

Arranging the environment in such a way that a given response is either more likely or less likely to occur.

Clarification

Bringing the matter under discussion into sharper focus.

Partialization

Cutting down of a complex problem to such size and specificity as to make it manageable for discussion and work-over by the client at a given time.

Mental Health Outcomes

Outcomes defined as any condition that an intervention is intended to affect or change. Empirically based outcome measures for mental health are functional status, perception of quality of life, benefits of care, problems with care, safety and client/family satisfaction with mental health services.