Glossary

Mental Health Glossary

Clear, accessible explanations of therapy approaches, mental health concepts and common clinical terms.

See all mental health glossary terms

A

Academic Accommodations: Academic accommodations are adjustments designed to give students with disabilities or documented conditions equitable access to education and testing. Depending on a person's needs, accommodations may include extended testing time, reduced-distraction testing environments, breaks, assistive technology, or other supports. Psychological or neuropsychological testing may be used to document conditions such as ADHD or learning disorders and provide recommendations, although individual schools and testing organizations determine their own eligibility requirements.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of psychotherapy that helps people develop a different relationship with difficult thoughts, feelings, and experiences rather than trying to eliminate them entirely. ACT uses acceptance, mindfulness, and behavior-change strategies to help people identify their values and make choices that move their lives in meaningful directions. ACT is commonly used to treat anxiety, depression, chronic stress, trauma-related difficulties, and other mental health concerns.
ADHD: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect attention, organization, impulse control, motivation, time management, working memory, and activity level. ADHD symptoms in adults may include chronic procrastination, forgetfulness, difficulty finishing tasks, losing track of time, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities. ADHD treatment may include psychotherapy, executive functioning strategies, medication, or a combination of approaches.
ADHD Testing and ADHD Assessment: ADHD testing and ADHD assessment are used to determine whether difficulties with attention, impulsivity, organization, working memory, or executive functioning are consistent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A comprehensive ADHD evaluation may include a clinical interview, standardized questionnaires, developmental and educational history, and psychological or neuropsychological testing. Testing can also help distinguish ADHD from conditions with overlapping symptoms, including anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep problems, and learning disorders.
Adjustment Disorder: Adjustment disorder is a mental health condition that can develop when a person has significant emotional or behavioral difficulty adjusting to a stressful life event or major change. Symptoms may include anxiety, sadness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, or problems functioning at work, school, or in relationships. Psychotherapy can help people process the stressor, strengthen coping skills, and adapt to changes in their circumstances.
Adult ADHD: Adult ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect attention, organization, time management, motivation, impulse control, working memory, and emotional regulation. Common adult ADHD symptoms include procrastination, losing track of tasks, missing deadlines, difficulty maintaining routines, and feeling chronically overwhelmed despite significant effort. Adult ADHD therapy, medication, executive functioning support, and formal ADHD assessment can help clarify and manage these difficulties.
Agoraphobia: Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder involving significant fear of situations in which escaping or getting help might feel difficult if anxiety or panic symptoms occur. This may include public transportation, crowds, stores, open or enclosed spaces, or being outside the home alone. Therapy can help people gradually reduce avoidance and develop greater confidence functioning in situations that have become associated with fear.
Anxiety: Anxiety involves persistent or excessive worry, fear, nervousness, or a sense that something bad may happen. Common anxiety symptoms include racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, sleep problems, stomach discomfort, restlessness, and a rapid heartbeat. When anxiety interferes with work, relationships, sleep, or daily life, anxiety therapy can help identify triggers and develop more effective ways of responding to worry and fear.
Assessment: A mental health assessment is a structured process used by psychologists and therapists to better understand a person's symptoms, concerns, history, functioning, and treatment goals. An assessment may include a clinical interview, questionnaires, review of relevant history, or formal psychological testing. The information gathered helps clinicians develop appropriate diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
Attachment Styles: Attachment styles are patterns in how people experience closeness, trust, intimacy, and emotional connection in relationships. These patterns often develop through early relationships and may influence how we respond to closeness, conflict, rejection, and vulnerability as adults. Therapy can help people understand their attachment patterns and develop healthier ways of relating to others.
Attachment-Based Therapy: Attachment-based therapy explores how early and current relationships influence a person's expectations about closeness, trust, safety, rejection, and emotional connection. Therapy may help clients recognize recurring relationship patterns and understand how attachment experiences continue to influence their adult relationships. The goal is not to assign someone a permanent attachment label but to develop greater flexibility, security, and awareness in relationships.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect social communication, sensory processing, behavior, interests, and how a person experiences and interacts with the world. Autism presents differently across individuals, and strengths and support needs can vary considerably. Psychological or neuropsychological assessment can help clarify whether a person's experiences and developmental history are consistent with autism.
Autism Testing and Adult Autism Assessment: Autism testing and adult autism assessment evaluate whether a person's developmental history, communication style, sensory experiences, behavior, interests, and social experiences are consistent with autism spectrum disorder. An adult autism evaluation may be especially helpful for people who have spent years feeling different, masking, or struggling socially without understanding why. Assessment may include clinical interviews, standardized measures, developmental history, and other relevant information to provide diagnostic clarification and individualized recommendations.

B

Behavioral Therapy: Behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on understanding and changing behaviors that contribute to distress or interfere with daily life. Behavioral approaches may help people develop healthier habits, gradually face situations they have been avoiding, and change patterns that reinforce anxiety or other symptoms. Behavioral techniques are frequently incorporated into treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy.
Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder involving episodes of significant changes in mood, energy, activity, and functioning. Depending on the type of bipolar disorder, a person may experience episodes of depression as well as periods of mania or hypomania involving increased energy, decreased need for sleep, unusually elevated or irritable mood, rapid thinking, or impulsive behavior. Accurate diagnosis is important because bipolar disorder can sometimes initially resemble depression, ADHD, anxiety, or other mental health conditions.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition that can involve intense emotions, difficulty regulating those emotions, unstable relationships, fear of abandonment, impulsivity, and an unstable or changing sense of self. People with BPD may experience relationships and emotions with considerable intensity and may have difficulty returning to baseline after becoming distressed. Evidence-based treatments such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can help people develop stronger emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and relationship skills.
Boundaries: Boundaries are the emotional, physical, interpersonal, and practical limits people establish within relationships. Healthy boundaries help people communicate their needs, protect their well-being, and determine what they are and are not comfortable accepting from others. Therapy can help people identify boundaries and learn how to communicate them clearly and effectively.
Burnout: Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can develop after prolonged stress or overwhelming demands. Common signs include fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, reduced motivation, emotional detachment, and feeling ineffective or overwhelmed. Although burnout is often associated with work, it can also occur in caregiving, parenting, school, and other demanding areas of life.

C

C-PTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder): Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) describes trauma-related difficulties that can develop following repeated, prolonged, or interpersonal traumatic experiences, particularly experiences that are difficult to escape. In addition to symptoms associated with PTSD, people with complex trauma may experience difficulty regulating emotions, persistent shame or negative beliefs about themselves, relationship difficulties, distrust, emotional disconnection, or an unstable sense of identity. Trauma-focused psychotherapy can help people understand how prolonged trauma has shaped their emotions and relationships while developing greater safety, emotional regulation, and self-understanding.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that focuses on the connections among thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. CBT helps people identify patterns of thinking or behavior that contribute to distress and develop more helpful ways of responding. It is commonly used to treat anxiety, depression, OCD, insomnia, panic disorder, and many other mental health conditions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I): Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed for chronic insomnia and persistent sleep difficulties. CBT-I addresses thoughts, behaviors, routines, and sleep patterns that can unintentionally maintain problems falling asleep, staying asleep, or returning to sleep. Treatment may include changing sleep-related habits, reducing anxiety about sleep, strengthening the connection between bed and sleep, and helping the body's natural sleep system become more consistent.
Couples Therapy: Couples therapy is psychotherapy focused on helping partners understand and improve their relationship. Treatment may address communication difficulties, recurring conflict, trust, intimacy, major life transitions, infidelity, parenting disagreements, or uncertainty about the future of the relationship. A couples therapist helps partners identify patterns in their interactions and develop healthier ways of communicating and responding to one another.

D

Depersonalization and Derealization: Depersonalization is a feeling of being detached from yourself, your thoughts, emotions, or body, while derealization involves feeling that your surroundings are unreal, distant, dreamlike, or unfamiliar. These experiences can occur during periods of intense anxiety, panic, trauma, stress, or dissociation. Therapy can help people understand these experiences, identify triggers, and develop grounding and emotional regulation strategies.
Depression: Depression is a mental health condition that can affect mood, motivation, energy, sleep, appetite, concentration, and a person's ability to experience pleasure or interest. Depression symptoms can include sadness, emptiness, irritability, exhaustion, numbness, hopelessness, or disconnection. Depression therapy can help people understand contributing factors, change patterns that maintain symptoms, and improve mood and daily functioning.
Diagnostic Evaluation: A diagnostic evaluation is a clinical assessment used to understand a person's symptoms and determine whether they meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis. It typically involves discussing current concerns, psychological and medical history, relationships, functioning, and previous treatment. A diagnostic evaluation can help clarify treatment recommendations and determine whether additional psychological or neuropsychological testing may be useful.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions, tolerating distress, improving relationships, and responding to difficult situations more effectively. DBT combines acceptance-based strategies with techniques designed to support behavioral change. It is commonly used for difficulties involving emotional regulation, impulsive behavior, self-destructive patterns, and interpersonal conflict.
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Dissociation: Dissociation is a sense of disconnection from your thoughts, feelings, body, surroundings, memories, or sense of identity. It can range from feeling emotionally numb or unreal to experiencing significant gaps in memory or feeling detached from yourself. Dissociation can occur in response to trauma, overwhelming stress, anxiety, and other psychological experiences, and therapy can help people understand triggers and develop greater grounding and stability.
Dyslexia: Dyslexia is a learning disorder that primarily affects reading skills, including accurate or fluent word recognition, decoding, and spelling. Dyslexia is not a reflection of intelligence, and people with dyslexia can have strengths across many other areas of learning and cognition. Formal psychological or educational testing can help identify dyslexia and guide appropriate interventions and accommodations.

E

Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating: Eating disorders are mental health conditions involving significant disturbances in eating behaviors, thoughts about food, or concerns related to weight and body image. Disordered eating is a broader term that can describe problematic eating patterns that may or may not meet the criteria for a specific eating disorder diagnosis. Treatment can address both the psychological factors contributing to these patterns and their effects on a person's emotional and physical well-being.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy developed to help people process traumatic or distressing experiences. During EMDR therapy, a therapist guides the client through structured recall of difficult memories while using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements. EMDR is most strongly associated with the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although clinicians may use it for other trauma-related symptoms.
Emotional Dysregulation and Emotion Regulation: Emotion regulation is the ability to recognize, understand, and respond to emotions in ways that are manageable and appropriate to the situation. Emotional dysregulation occurs when emotions become unusually intense, difficult to control, or slow to settle, sometimes leading to impulsive behaviors, relationship conflict, or feeling overwhelmed. Therapy can help people develop skills for tolerating distress, understanding emotional triggers, and responding more effectively to strong emotions.
Evidence-Based Therapy: Evidence-based therapy refers to psychological treatments informed by scientific research demonstrating their effectiveness for particular mental health concerns. Evidence-based practice also takes into account the therapist's clinical expertise and the individual client's needs, preferences, culture, and circumstances. Examples include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
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Executive Functioning: Executive functioning refers to mental skills that help us plan, organize, prioritize, manage time, remember information, regulate emotions, start tasks, and follow through on goals. Executive functioning difficulties can look like chronic procrastination, forgetfulness, poor time management, losing track of responsibilities, difficulty transitioning between tasks, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday demands. Executive functioning challenges are common in ADHD and autism but can also occur with anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep problems, and learning disorders.
Executive Functioning Testing: Executive functioning testing evaluates skills involved in planning, organization, attention, working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, time management, and task completion. Executive function assessment may be included in a broader psychological or neuropsychological evaluation when someone is struggling at school, work, or in daily life. Testing can help clarify whether these difficulties are associated with ADHD, a learning disorder, another mental health condition, or other factors.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a leading treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ERP involves gradually confronting feared thoughts, situations, sensations, or triggers while reducing the compulsions or rituals typically used to relieve anxiety. Over time, this process can help people become less controlled by obsessive fears and compulsive behaviors.

G

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) involves excessive and difficult-to-control worry about multiple areas of life, such as work, health, relationships, finances, or everyday responsibilities. People with GAD may also experience restlessness, muscle tension, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and sleep problems. Psychotherapy can help people understand patterns of chronic worry and develop more effective ways of responding to uncertainty and anxiety.
Grief and Loss: Grief is the emotional process that can follow the death of someone important or another significant loss. Grief symptoms may include sadness, anger, guilt, numbness, longing, confusion, relief, or changes in identity and meaning. Grief counseling and grief therapy provide space to process loss and adapt to life after it without assuming that grief follows a single timeline or predictable series of stages.

H

Health Anxiety: Health anxiety involves persistent worry about having or developing a serious medical condition, often despite reassurance or limited evidence of illness. People may frequently check their bodies, search for symptoms online, seek repeated medical reassurance, or avoid medical information and appointments because of fear. Therapy can help reduce the cycle of anxiety, checking, reassurance seeking, and temporary relief.

I

Insomnia: Insomnia involves persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or obtaining restorative sleep despite having an adequate opportunity to sleep. Chronic insomnia can affect mood, concentration, energy, physical health, and daily functioning. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is an evidence-based psychological treatment designed specifically to address patterns that contribute to ongoing sleep difficulties.
Internal Family Systems (IFS): Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a form of psychotherapy that understands the mind as containing different “parts,” each of which may carry particular emotions, beliefs, memories, or protective roles. Rather than trying to eliminate unwanted parts of yourself, IFS therapy helps you approach them with curiosity and understand what they may be trying to protect you from. The goal is to develop a more compassionate and integrated relationship with your internal experiences.
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Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is an evidence-based, structured form of psychotherapy that focuses on the relationship between a person's emotional symptoms and their current relationships and social environment. Treatment often focuses on areas such as grief, interpersonal conflict, major role transitions, or difficulties developing and maintaining relationships. IPT is particularly well established as a treatment for depression and has also been adapted for other mental health concerns.
Intrusive Thoughts: Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, impulses, or mental experiences that enter the mind unexpectedly and may feel disturbing, frightening, or inconsistent with a person's values. Having an intrusive thought does not mean that someone wants to act on it or that the thought reflects their character. Intrusive thoughts can occur in many people but may become particularly distressing in conditions such as OCD, anxiety, and postpartum mental health conditions.

J

Jungian Psychoanalysis: Jungian psychoanalysis, also called Jungian analysis, is a depth-oriented form of psychotherapy based on the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung. It explores unconscious patterns, dreams, relationships, symbols, identity, creativity, and the ways people develop meaning throughout their lives. Jungian therapy often focuses not only on symptom relief but also on individuation, the process of developing a more integrated and authentic relationship with different aspects of oneself.

L

Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Lacanian psychoanalysis is a form of psychoanalysis influenced by the work of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. It pays particular attention to language, desire, identity, relationships, and the unconscious, including how the ways we speak can reveal patterns and conflicts that are not immediately apparent to us. Rather than focusing exclusively on symptom reduction, Lacanian analysis explores the meanings, desires, and recurring patterns underlying a person's experience.
Learning Disability: A learning disability is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person develops specific academic skills, such as reading, writing, or mathematics, despite adequate opportunities to learn. Examples include specific learning disorders affecting reading, written expression, or mathematics. Psychological and educational testing can help identify learning disorders and determine appropriate academic supports and accommodations.
Life Transitions: Life transitions are significant changes that require a person to adjust to new circumstances, roles, relationships, or identities. Examples include starting or ending a relationship, changing careers, moving, becoming a parent, graduating, retiring, experiencing a loss, or entering a new stage of adulthood. Therapy can provide support during periods of change and help people navigate uncertainty, identity questions, and difficult emotions.

M

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder involving persistent depression or loss of interest or pleasure along with other symptoms that significantly affect daily functioning. Symptoms may include changes in sleep or appetite, low energy, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, slowed or agitated behavior, and thoughts about death or suicide. Depression is treatable, and treatment may include psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of approaches.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Mindfulness-based therapy incorporates practices that help people develop greater awareness of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and experiences in the present moment. Rather than automatically reacting to uncomfortable internal experiences, clients learn to observe them with greater openness and flexibility. Mindfulness techniques may be incorporated into treatment for anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, and other mental health concerns.

N

Neurodivergence-Affirming Therapy: Neurodivergence-affirming therapy is an approach to mental health care that recognizes neurological differences, such as autism and ADHD, as variations in how people experience and interact with the world rather than automatically treating those differences as deficits. Therapy focuses on understanding an individual's strengths, challenges, sensory needs, communication style, and goals. Treatment may address distress or impairment without assuming that the person's underlying neurodivergence needs to be changed.
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Neuropsychological Testing: Neuropsychological testing is a comprehensive assessment of cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, executive functioning, language, learning, and processing speed. Neuropsychological testing may help clarify questions involving ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, executive functioning difficulties, and other cognitive concerns. The evaluation typically includes standardized testing and results in a detailed report with findings, diagnostic impressions when appropriate, and individualized treatment or accommodation recommendations.

O

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition involving unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, sensations, or urges called obsessions and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals called compulsions. Compulsions are often performed to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared outcome, but the relief they provide tends to be temporary and can reinforce the OCD cycle. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is one of the primary evidence-based treatments for OCD.
Online Therapy: Online therapy, also called teletherapy or virtual therapy, allows clients to meet with a licensed mental health professional through secure video sessions rather than meeting in person. Online psychotherapy can address many of the same concerns as in-person therapy, including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma, grief, and life transitions. Whether teletherapy is appropriate depends on a client's clinical needs, preferences, and location.

P

Panic Attack: A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or physical discomfort that may include a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking, sweating, chest discomfort, nausea, numbness, or a feeling of losing control. Panic attacks can feel dangerous even when there is no immediate physical threat. Therapy can help people understand panic symptoms, reduce fear of bodily sensations, and address avoidance that may develop after panic attacks.
Panic Disorder: Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and ongoing concern about experiencing additional attacks or their consequences. Panic attacks can cause intense physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking, chest discomfort, or a feeling of losing control. Therapy can help people understand panic symptoms, reduce fear of the sensations themselves, and gradually change avoidance patterns that can develop around panic attacks.
People-Pleasing: People-pleasing is a pattern of prioritizing other people's approval, comfort, or needs at the expense of your own needs or boundaries. It may involve difficulty saying no, avoiding conflict, taking excessive responsibility for other people's emotions, or worrying intensely about disappointing others. Therapy can help people understand where these patterns developed and build healthier boundaries and more balanced relationships.
Perfectionism: Perfectionism involves setting excessively high standards for yourself or feeling that mistakes, imperfections, or failure are unacceptable. It can contribute to anxiety, procrastination, burnout, self-criticism, difficulty completing tasks, and feeling that accomplishments are never good enough. Therapy can help people develop more flexible standards while maintaining ambition and motivation.
Perinatal Mental Health: Perinatal mental health refers to emotional and psychological well-being during pregnancy and the period following childbirth. This period can involve depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, changes in identity, relationship difficulties, grief, trauma, or challenges adjusting to parenthood. Perinatal therapy provides support for these experiences during pregnancy and after a baby is born.
Postpartum Anxiety: Postpartum anxiety involves persistent or excessive anxiety that develops after childbirth and goes beyond the understandable worries associated with caring for a new baby. Symptoms may include constant worry, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping even when the baby is asleep, physical tension, intrusive fears, or repeatedly checking on the baby's safety. Therapy can help new parents understand these symptoms and develop strategies for managing anxiety during the postpartum period.
Postpartum Depression: Postpartum depression is a form of depression that can develop during pregnancy or after childbirth and is more persistent and impairing than the temporary mood changes often called the “baby blues.” Symptoms may include sadness, anxiety, irritability, guilt, exhaustion, difficulty bonding with the baby, loss of interest, or feeling overwhelmed or disconnected. Postpartum depression is treatable, and psychotherapy can be an important part of treatment and support.
Prolonged Grief Disorder: Prolonged grief disorder involves persistent and intense grief following the death of someone close that continues to significantly interfere with daily functioning beyond the expected period of acute bereavement. A person may experience intense longing, preoccupation with the person who died, emotional pain, difficulty accepting the death, or a sense that an important part of themselves has been lost. Grief-focused psychotherapy can help people process the loss while gradually rebuilding a meaningful life around it.
Psychedelic Integration Therapy: Psychedelic integration therapy is psychotherapy designed to help people reflect on and make sense of experiences they have had with psychedelic substances. Integration may involve exploring emotions, memories, insights, relationships, or changes in perspective that emerged during an experience and considering how those insights relate to everyday life. Psychedelic integration therapy does not necessarily involve the therapist providing, administering, or supervising the use of psychedelic substances.
Psychoanalysis: Psychoanalysis is an in-depth form of psychological treatment that explores unconscious thoughts, emotions, conflicts, relationships, and recurring patterns that may influence a person's life outside of their awareness. The therapeutic relationship itself can become an important source of information about how a person experiences themselves and others. Psychoanalytic treatment generally aims for deeper and more enduring psychological change rather than focusing exclusively on immediate symptom reduction.
Psychodynamic Therapy: Psychodynamic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that explores how past experiences, relationships, emotions, and unconscious patterns may influence a person's current life. Therapy often examines recurring relationship patterns, internal conflicts, defenses, and emotional experiences that may operate outside of conscious awareness. The goal is to develop deeper self-understanding and create lasting changes in how a person experiences themselves and relates to others.
Psychological Evaluation: A psychological evaluation is a comprehensive process used to understand a person's emotional, behavioral, cognitive, personality, or academic functioning. Depending on the referral question, an evaluation may include clinical interviews, standardized psychological tests, questionnaires, review of records, and information from other relevant sources. Psychological evaluations can help clarify diagnoses and provide individualized recommendations for treatment, school, work, or other areas of functioning.
Psychological Testing: Psychological testing is a structured assessment process used to understand a person's cognitive, emotional, behavioral, personality, or academic functioning. Psychological testing may be used to evaluate ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, mood disorders, personality functioning, and other psychological concerns, depending on the referral question. An evaluation typically includes a clinical interview, standardized measures, interpretation by a psychologist, and a written report with findings and recommendations.
Psychologist: A psychologist is a mental health professional with doctoral-level training in psychology, typically holding a PhD or PsyD. Psychologists may provide psychotherapy, psychological testing, diagnostic assessment, research, consultation, or other psychological services depending on their training and licensure. Unlike psychiatrists and other medical doctors, psychologists generally do not prescribe medication, although prescribing authority exists for specially trained psychologists in a limited number of jurisdictions.
Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy, often simply called therapy, is professional mental health treatment that uses conversation, psychological techniques, and the therapeutic relationship to address emotional, behavioral, interpersonal, or mental health concerns. People seek psychotherapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, identity concerns, life transitions, and personal growth. Different types of therapy use different theories and techniques, so treatment can be matched to a person's needs, goals, and preferences.
Psychotherapy vs. Counseling: Psychotherapy and counseling are terms often used interchangeably to describe treatment with a mental health professional. “Counseling” is sometimes used to describe support focused on a specific problem or life transition, while “psychotherapy” may refer to broader or longer-term work involving emotions, relationships, behavioral patterns, or mental health conditions. In practice, the distinction often depends more on the clinician's training, treatment approach, and the client's needs than on the label itself.
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PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Symptoms may include intrusive memories or nightmares, avoidance of reminders of the trauma, changes in mood or beliefs, emotional numbness, hypervigilance, sleep problems, or feeling constantly on guard. Trauma-focused psychotherapy can help people process traumatic experiences and reduce the ways PTSD interferes with everyday life.

R

Relational Psychotherapy: Relational psychotherapy is an approach that understands psychological well-being in the context of relationships, both past and present. Therapy explores how patterns involving closeness, trust, conflict, vulnerability, dependency, and connection may appear in a person's relationships and sometimes within the therapeutic relationship itself. The relationship between therapist and client is treated as an important part of understanding and changing longstanding interpersonal patterns.
Relationship Issues and Relationship Therapy: Relationship therapy helps people understand patterns that create conflict, disconnection, insecurity, or dissatisfaction in their relationships. Therapy may address communication, attachment, trust, boundaries, intimacy, recurring conflicts, breakups, dating patterns, or difficulties developing and maintaining close relationships. Relationship concerns can be explored in individual psychotherapy as well as couples therapy.

S

Sandplay Therapy: Sandplay therapy is an experiential form of psychotherapy in which clients use a sandbox and miniature figures or objects to create scenes that can express emotions, conflicts, relationships, memories, and experiences that may be difficult to put into words. Influenced by Jungian psychology, sandplay therapy offers a symbolic and creative way to explore conscious and unconscious psychological material within the safety of the therapeutic relationship. Sandplay can be used with children and adults and may be incorporated into therapy for trauma, anxiety, grief, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and other emotional concerns.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that follows a recurring seasonal pattern, most commonly beginning during the fall or winter and improving during the spring or summer. Symptoms can include low mood, reduced energy, increased sleep, changes in appetite, difficulty concentrating, and loss of interest or motivation. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, light therapy, medication, or a combination of approaches depending on the individual's needs.
Self-Esteem: Self-esteem refers to how a person views and values themselves. Low self-esteem may involve persistent self-criticism, feelings of inadequacy, difficulty accepting positive feedback, comparing yourself to others, or believing that your worth depends on achievement or approval. Therapy can help people understand the experiences and beliefs that shaped their self-image and develop a more stable and realistic sense of self-worth.
Social Anxiety Disorder: Social anxiety disorder involves intense fear or anxiety about social situations in which a person worries about being judged, embarrassed, rejected, or negatively evaluated by others. It can affect dating, friendships, work, school, public speaking, eating around others, or everyday conversations. Therapy for social anxiety can help people challenge fearful expectations, reduce avoidance, and become more comfortable participating in social situations.
Somatic Therapy: Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to psychotherapy that pays attention to physical sensations and nervous system responses as well as thoughts and emotions. It can help clients notice how stress, anxiety, or traumatic experiences are experienced in the body and develop greater awareness and regulation of these responses. Somatic techniques may be incorporated into trauma therapy and other forms of psychotherapy rather than used as a single standardized treatment.
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Specific Learning Disorder (Learning Disorder): Specific learning disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent difficulties developing academic skills in areas such as reading, written expression, or mathematics. Dyslexia is commonly used to describe significant reading-related difficulties, while other learning disorders may primarily affect writing or mathematics. Psychological or educational testing can identify patterns of strengths and difficulties and help determine appropriate interventions and accommodations.
Specific Phobia: A specific phobia is an intense and persistent fear of a particular object or situation, such as flying, heights, animals, needles, blood, or enclosed spaces. People may recognize that the level of fear is disproportionate while still experiencing significant anxiety or avoiding the feared situation. Exposure-based therapy can help people gradually approach feared situations and reduce the anxiety and avoidance associated with them.
Stress Management: Stress management refers to strategies for recognizing, reducing, and responding more effectively to psychological and physical stress. Chronic stress can affect sleep, concentration, mood, relationships, physical tension, and overall functioning. Therapy can help people identify sources of stress, change unhelpful patterns, establish healthier boundaries, and develop coping strategies that fit their lives.

T

Therapist: A therapist is a broad term for a professional who provides psychotherapy or counseling. Therapists may have different professional licenses and educational backgrounds, including psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other qualified mental health professionals. A therapist's specific training, therapeutic approach, experience, and licensure can help determine whether they are an appropriate fit for a particular client's needs.
Trauma: Trauma refers to the psychological and emotional effects of experiences that overwhelm a person's ability to cope or create an ongoing sense of threat or helplessness. Trauma can result from a single event or repeated experiences such as abuse, neglect, violence, loss, or unstable relationships. Its effects can appear in emotions, relationships, beliefs, behavior, and physical responses even long after the original experience has ended.
Trauma-Informed Therapy: Trauma-informed therapy is an approach to mental health treatment that recognizes how traumatic experiences can affect emotions, relationships, behavior, physical responses, and a person's sense of safety. A trauma-informed therapist considers the potential impact of trauma while emphasizing collaboration, choice, trust, and psychological safety. Being trauma-informed does not necessarily mean that every problem is interpreted as trauma or that a particular trauma-processing technique must be used.

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