Glossary

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Early intervention: A process used to recognize warning signs for mental health problems and to take early action against factors that put individuals at risk. Early intervention can help children get better in less time and can prevent problems from becoming worse.

Eating disorders: eating behaviors, all associated with misusing food for emotional reasons. They range from chronic dieting to compulsive overeating and often involve behaviors ranging from bingeing and purging to self-starvation.

elevated mood: An exaggerated feeling of well-being, or euphoria or elation

emotional abuse: a serious mistreatment of another person's feelings or emotional needs

Emotional Disturbance / Behavioral Disorder: classifications to describe extreme or unacceptable chronic behavior problems. In children, there may be delays in social development, isolation. Behavior disorders generally consist of four clusters of traits, including conduct disorders, anxiety-withdrawal immaturity, and socialized aggression.

Endorphins: Chemicals in the brain that influence moods and the experience of pain.

euthymia: A person's normal mood state.

euthymic: Mood in the "normal" range, which implies the absence of depressed or elevated mood.

expansive mood: Lack of restraint in expressing one's feelings, frequently with an overvaluation of one's significance or importance.

Family Therapy: A therapeutic method which involves assessment and treatment with all immediate family members present. This therapy places emphasis on the family as a system rather than focusing on one person who might be deemed the identified patient.

fantasy: An imagined sequence of events or mental images (e.g., daydreams) that serves to express unconscious conflicts, to gratify unconscious wishes, or to prepare for anticipated future events.

flat affect: An affect type that indicates the absence of signs of affective expression.

Fragile X Syndrome: "Fragile X syndrome is a hereditary condition which can cause learning problems in both males and females. It is the most common cause of genetically-inherited mental impairment. The spectrum of intellectual involvement ranges from subtle learning disabilities and a normal IQ, to severe mental retardation and autism. Fragile X syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms, which include physical and behavioral characteristics and speech and language delay.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): An anxiety disorder which results in a continuous state of anxiety or fear, lasting a month or more, marked by signs of motor tension, autonomic hyperactivity (a pounding heart), constant apprehension, and difficulties in concentration.

grandiosity: An inflated appraisal of one's worth, power, knowledge, importance, or identity.

hallucinations: Abnormal auditory (hearing), olfactory (smelling), visual (seeing), gustatory (tasting), or kinesthetic (feeling) perceptions.

hyperactivity: Behavior marked by high levels of activity and restlessness.

Hyperlipoproteinaemia: the presence of excess lipoprotein in the blood.

hypomania: An episode of illness that resembles mania, but is less intense and less disabling. Hypomania is characterized by a euphoric mood, unrealistic optimism, increased speech and activity, and a decreased need for sleep.

Impulse-control disorders: Disorders characterized by the inability to control impulses that might be harmful to oneself or others.

inappropriate affect: An affect type that represents an unusual affective expression that does not match with the content of what is being said or thought.

Individual Therapy: Therapy tailored for a patient/client that is administered one-on-one.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): one-on-one counselling which focuses on the patient's current life and relationships within the family, social, and work environments. The goal is to identify and resolve problems with insight, as well as build on strengths.