A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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A

• Augmentation– the addition of a secondary form of treatment to a primary form of treatment in order to enhance its effectiveness.

B

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)– a mental disorder characterized by a severe preoccupation with a perceived defect in one’s appearance. Any body part can be the focus of concern, including the face (e.g., nose too big or eyes too small), hair (e.g. thinning) or skin (e.g., scarred). Some BDD sufferers have concerns involving body symmetry. Most of these concerns are imaginary, but if a slight ‘defect’ is in fact present, the concern is excessive.  To learn more about BDD, please read our blog.

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder by Proxy (BDD-BP)– a form of BDD in which an individual is preoccupied with someone else’s appearance rather than his/her own. Similar to BDD, the aspect of the other person’s appearance that is causing concern is not observable or appears very slight to others.

C

• Chronic Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder– a neurological disorder characterized by the presence of tics that last for at least a year, with an onset before age 18.

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)– a type of therapy used to treat a wide range of psychological disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, phobias, etc. The goal is to identify and modify distorted thoughts and replace negative and destructive behaviors with healthy behaviors.

• Comorbidity– two or more disorders occurring at the same time.

• Compulsions– also known as “rituals,” behaviors or thoughts that one performs over and over again in an attempt to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared outcome. Some common compulsions are: excessive cleaning or washing, checking things, repeating certain behaviors, seeking constant reassurance, doing something a certain number of times, or mental rituals such as counting, or praying to prevent harm.

• Control group– a group of participants, serving as a comparison group, who do not receive the main treatment being studied. Instead, they receive a different treatment, no treatment, the standard form of treatment, or a placebo.

• Controlled study– a study in which two or more groups are compared. Usually, one group of participants receives the study treatment, while the other “control” group receives a different treatment, no treatment, standard treatment, or a placebo.

• Coprolalia– involuntary uttering of obscene words or phrases.

D

• D-Cycloserine (DCS)– an antibiotic that has been used for over 20 years in the treatment of tuberculosis. Recent research suggests that it may be helpful at very low doses as a memory enhancer to augment behavior therapy in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders.

• Double-blind study– a study in which neither the participant nor the clinician/researcher knows whether or not the participant is receiving the active study medication.

E

• Echolalia– involuntary repetition of another person’s words or phrases.

• Electroencephalogram (EEG)– a graph that measures and records electrical activity in the brain.

• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)– a type of behavior therapy, in which patients are asked to gradually confront situations that tend to make them nervous, while not engaging in activities that they typically do to relieve the anxiety.

• Exposure Hierarchy– a list of anxiety-producing situations ranked based on how much anxiety they cause, which the patient creates during exposure therapy.

F

• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)– a special high-speed procedure that provides information on brain functioning by measuring blood flow in the brain.

H

• Habit Reversal Training (HRT)– a type of behavior therapy used to reduce impulsive behaviors (e.g. hair pulling, skin picking, etc). In HRT, the patient learns how to identify triggers that lead to compulsive behaviors, engage in alternative and usually opposite behaviors to replace the current ones, and develop relaxation training techniques.

• Hoarding – Hoarding, also known as “compulsive hoarding,” is a psychiatric illness characterized by excessive collection of objects and an inability to relinquish these possessions. The result is disorganization and clutter that causes significant distress or interference in daily activities, and in many cases, poses a serious health or safety risk. A person who engages in hoarding usually has at least one designated space (e.g. room, house, storage space, office, car, etc.) filled with so much clutter that it is completely unlivable.  To learn more about hoarding, please read our blog.
  

M

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)– a non-invasive procedure used to take detailed pictures of the internal structure of the body.

• Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a well-established intervention designed to promote nonjudgmental moment-to-moment awareness of one’s bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions through practice in various kinds of meditation.  Many clinics and health centers nationwide now use MBSR to treat various medical and psychological conditions.Mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness

• Muscle Dysmorphia– a form of BDD, in which people worry that they are not muscular enough or that they are too small and weak (even though they actually look normal or even muscular).  To learn more about muscle dysmorphia, please read our blog.

N

• Neuroimaging– the production of images of the brain using non-invasive techniques. Examples include computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron-emission tomography (PET).

• Neuroleptic– An older class of medications used to treat a broad range of psychiatric disorders, including but not limited to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Tourette Disorder.

• Neurotransmitters– chemical messengers in the brain. Altered neurotransmitter activity is associated with many psychological and neurological conditions. Examples include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

O

• Obsessions– thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again, feel out of one’s control, and cause significant distress. Some common obsessions are: fear of dirt or germs, concern with order, symmetry, or exactness, violent or horrific images, sexually disturbing thoughts, frequent thoughts about particular sounds, images, words, or numbers, fear of losing important things, fear of harming others or being responsible for causing something bad to happen.

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)– a psychiatric illness characterized by persistent and intrusive obsessions and/or repetitive, time-consuming compulsions.

• Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders– a group of clinically related disorders, which share similar symptoms and possibly an underlying neurobiological cause, and often co-exist in an individual. Examples include body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette Syndrome, and trichotillomania.

• Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS)– a psychological disorder in which people are excessively concerned with their body odor. The preoccupation with the odor becomes time consuming and causes significant distress.

P

• Palilalia– involuntary repetition of one’s own words.

• Pathological Skin Picking (CSP)/Dermatillomania– a psychiatric illness characterized by repeated picking and/or scratching at one’s own skin, often resulting in damage to that area and causing distress to the individual. The face is the most common site, but the picking can occur anywhere on the body.

• Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS)– a sudden onset or worsening of OCD and/or tic disorder symptoms that occur during childhood, following a strep throat infection.

• Pharmacotherapy– treatment of an illness with medication.

• Placebo– a pill which resembles the medication being studied, but contains no active ingredients.

S

• Scrupulous OCD– a type of OCD in which obsessions relate to moral or religious fears.  To learn more about scrupulous OCD, please read our blog.

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)– a group of antidepressant medications that are used to treat many psychological disorders by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter, serotonin, available in the brain. Examples: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, and Celexa.

T

• Tic– a sudden, repetitive, and involuntary muscle movement (motor tic) or vocalization (vocal tic). Examples of tics include: eye blinking, neck or shoulder jerking, sniffing, grunting, barking, and chirping, arm flapping, and facial grimacing.

• Tourette Syndrome (TS)– a neurological disorder characterized by both multiple motor tics and at least one or more vocal tics (thought not necessarily at the same time) with an onset before age 18.

• Transient Tic Disorder– a neurological disorder that begins in childhood, characterized by tics (motor or vocal) lasting at least four weeks, but no more than one year. As with all tic disorders, transient tics tend to worsen during times of increased stress, excitement, or lack of sleep.

• Trichotillomania– a psychological disorder characterized by repetitive and compulsive pulling of hair from anywhere on the body (e.g. head, eyebrows, eye lashes, arms, legs or pubic area) and resulting in noticeable hair loss.