Glossary
To an outsider, many of the terms used by psychoanalysts and therapists might seem somewhat alienating.
For this reason, we have included below a glossary of terms that appear on the Anna Freud Centre's website.
The definitions are by no means exhaustive, but hopefully will serve to make clearer some of the more complex terms that we use (for example, distinguishing between all of the words beginning with the prefix psych-!).
Click on a letter if you are looking for a specific word or phrase:
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
A
Adaptive Function
A way of measuring a child's ability to cope with change. Measured on a scale from 1 to 100.
Adolescent Attachment Interview
A way of measuring how adolescents and young adults perceive intimate relationships and how they avoid and protect themselves from the dangers associated therewith.
Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
A way of measuring how adults perceive intimate relationships and how they avoid and protect themselves from the dangers associated therewith.
Andreas-Salomé, Lou
A Russian-born intellectual and psychoanalyst, Lou Andreas-Salomé was friends with Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke and Sigmund Freud. Her dates are 1861-1937.
Attachment/attachment theory/attachment relationship
Within psychoanalysis, attachment is specifically the bond formed by an infant towards its mother or principal caregiver. In attachment theory, this bond is thought to influence all subsequent relationships through to adulthood. Attachment includes the process whereby such a relationship develops.
B
Bayley Scale of Infant Development
The Bayley Scale measures the mental and motor development and tests the behaviour of infants from birth through to 3.5 years of age.
BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
A neuron in the hippocampus area of the brain, BDNF helps existing neurons to survive, and encourages the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses.
Bipolar Disorder
Referred to elsewhere as manic depression, the victim of bipolar disorder suffers from mood swings ranging from mania and hypomania to clinical depression.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
A serious mental illness characterised by unstable moods and interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, unpredictable behaviour and a disturbed sense of self.
C
Child Attachment Interview (CAI)
A way of measuring how children perceive intimate relationships and how they avoid and protect themselves from the dangers associated therewith. The CAI differs from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in that it concentrates on relationships in the present rather than looking back at past relationships.
Coding Interactive Behaviours scale
A means of measuring the quality of parent-infant interaction.
Cognition/cognitive
Cognition is the acquisition and use of intelligence. Cognitive, therefore, pertains to this process - as in cognitive cultural anthropology and cognitive developmental psychology.
Cognitive Cultural Anthropology
The study of humanity through the ways in which it develops and uses culture as an expression of and tool for acquiring intelligence.
Cognitive Developmental Psychology
The study of the way in which humans acquire and use knowledge and how these processes are linked to psychological changes that take place as humans grow older.
Comparative Psychology
The comparative study of the mental life of humans and of other species.
COMT (Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase)
COMT is a gene that codes for COMT transferase, an enzyme that is believed to be linked to cognition.
D
Death drive
The death drive, sometimes referred to as Thanatos [death], is a psychoanalytic term referring to an unconscious and perpetual desire to commit suicide/be destructive. Its opposite is Eros [love], or the pleasure principle/drive, which refers to the unconscious desire for unity.
Development/developmental
How humans change over time.
Developmental psychology
The scientific analysis of how human psychology/mental conditions change as humans also change physically over time.
E
Ego
Designated by Sigmund Freud as that part of the mind which is most conscious of itself, and which has most control over the other parts of the psyche, those being the id and the superego.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A method of the recording the electrical activity of the brain.
Evolutionary Psychology
A theoretical approach to psychology, in which mental and psychological traits are thought to change as a result of natural selection.
F
Family therapy
A form of psychotherapy that works with families and partners in order to bring about/effect change and development.
Fliess, Wilhelm
A German doctor specialising in ear, nose and throat surgery who is most famous for his correspondence with Sigmund Freud. Through this correspondence, Fliess was influential in the formation of psychoanalysis. He lived from 1858 to 1928.
Freud, Sigmund
The father of psychoanalysis. A neurologist by vocation, lack of funds meant Freud branched into psychiatry. He developed psychoanalysis through his theories of the unconscious and his division of the psyche into three parts, the ego, the id and the superego.
G
Guardian ad litem
A guardian or warden placed in charge of an infant or child, but who is not their biological parent.
H
Haemodialysis
A mechanical method of removing waste, such as potassium, urea and excess water, from the blood - especially when the kidneys are incapable of doing this.
I
Id
The part of the psyche defined by inherited, instinctive impulses, which are unconscious. Compare to the ego and superego.
Internalised structures
Patterns of behaviour that repeat themselves.
Intervention/tier 3 intervention
An intervention is the introduction of a form of psychotherapy into someone's life - typically someone suffering from some sort of disorder. A tier 3 intervention refers to a therapy reserved for more complex disorders.
J
Jones, Ernest
A Welsh neurologist, psychoanalyst and the biographer of Sigmund Freud. Jones was the first psychoanalyst to practice in English and was President of the British Psycho-Analytical Society and the International Psychoanalytic Association. His dates are 1879-1958.
K
Klein, Melanie
An Austrian-born psychoanalyst, whose work has been most influential in the treatment of infants and children. Klein latterly worked in England, often disagreeing with her fellow theorist, Anna Freud. Her dates are 1882-1960.
M
Mellow Parenting
A form of group therapy designed to help families with relationship problems with their infants and children. The technique includes the use of videotapes of sessions.
Mentalization/Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT)
Mentalization is the ability to perceive and to communicate one's own mental states and those of others - or the ability to be 'mindful of minds.' The term is loosely interchangeable with intersubjectivity and theory of minds. MBT encourages mentalization in order to improve intimate relationships.
Multimodal/multimodal parent training/multimodal treatment
A multimodal approach to psychotherapy accepts that humans work simultaneously on different levels (we think, we feel, we act, we sense, we imagine, we interact). Multimodal treatment, therefore, accepts the use of different treatment methods simultaneously, without the need to adhere strictly to the theoretical basis of any one form of treatment. In other words, treatment is here tailored more to the client.
N
Narcissistic Disorder
A personality disorder characterised by an extreme focus on oneself and a refusal to modify such behaviour. The result can often cause distress and impair functioning. Named after Narcissus, a figure in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own image.
Neuropsychoanalysis
A combination of neuroscience and psychoanalysis, which aims to improve our understanding of both the brain and the mind.
Neuropsychology
A combination of neuroscience and psychology, which aims to discover the ways in which the structure and functioning of the brain influence our mental processes/how our mind works.
Neuroscience
The scientific study of the brain, its structure and its functioning.
O
Object relations
A psychoanalytic theory whereby the ego does not exist autonomously, but only in relation to other phenomena, both internal and external.
Oedipus/oedipal stage
According to Greek mythology, Oedipus became the King of Thebes after solving the riddle of the Spinx, killing his father and inadvertently marrying his mother. Sigmund Freud used this myth to explain certain childhood neuroses: the desire for the exclusive love of the mother and subsequent jealousy towards the father. The Oedipal stage is the process whereby the child increases its independence from the mother and begins to understand that the mother desires people other than itself.
Outcome/outcomes
The result or effect of treatment.
P
Parent Development Interview (PDI)
A method for measuring how a parent thinks and feels about their relationship with their child.
Personality Disorder (PD)
A group of mental disorders that are rigid and long-lasting, and which can impair the sufferer's ability to function.
Philosophy of Mind
A branch of philosophy that examines how the brain works, mental processes, mental functions, mental properties and consciousness, and how these relate to the physical body.
Pleasure principle/drive
The desire for immediate gratification. The pleasure principle is also (and perhaps more importantly) the desire to avoid pain and suffering.
Psyche
The conscious and unconscious mind and emotions, and how these influence our being as a whole. Named after the object of Eros' desire in Greek mythology.
Psychiatric/psychiatric disturbance
Of or pertaining to psychiatry. A psychiatric disturbance generally involves a mental illness that can be treated medically.
Psychiatrist
Someone who performs psychiatry.
Psychiatry
The medical treatment of mental illness.
Psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic
A therapeutic method for treating personality/behavioural disorders that brings the unconscious fantasies and desires of the sufferer into their conscious mind. Click here to read more about psychoanalysis and the Anna Freud Centre.
Psychoanalyst
Someone who practices psychoanalysis.
Psychodynamic/psychodynamic psychotherapy/psychodynamic thinking
Psychodynamics are the study of the interrelated parts of the mind, emotions and psyche - and how they influence each other and change. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that incorporates a variety of (interrelated) techniques according to the client's needs. Psychodynamic thinking aims to take into account not only one's thoughts and feelings, but also those of others - i.e. it encourages the view of humans as interrelated beings.
Psychologist
Someone who practices psychology.
Psychology
The study of the nature, function and phenomena of the human mind.
Psychometry/psychometric
The measurement of the duration and intensity of mental states and processes.
Psychopathology/developmental psychopathology
A combination of psychology and pathology, the study of illness and disease. That is, the study of mental disorders and their causes. Developmental psychopathology looks how the disorders and their causes change over time.
Psychosocial functioning
The way in which social factors influence the way in which the mind works, and how society and the mind interact in human development.
Psychotherapist
Someone who practices psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy/ Parent-Infant Psychotherapy
The treatment of mental/personality disorders via psychological methods. Parent-Infant psychotherapy specifically addresses the relationship between parent and infant, once again using psychological methods to treat the problems arising therein.
R
Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
A scientific procedure used to test medicines or medical procedures. An RCT is also used to test new psychological therapies.
Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test
A quiz devised by Simon Baron-Cohen in which participants try to judge mental states by looking at pictures of people's eyes (and surrounding facial areas).
Reflective Functioning (RF)/reflective
The capacity to understand and to express another person's mental state and intentions by observing their behaviour. Also refers to a method of assessing a person's capacity for mentalization/RF by close reading and rating of Adult Attachment Interview transcripts according to predefined criteria.
RF Reliability Test
A test used to measure the reliability of one's ability to rate Reflective Functioning.
S
SPSS
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. SPSS is a software package that enables in-depth analysis of data and statistics.
Story Stems
A method whereby children are given the beginning of a story (typically involving some sort of dilemma) and asked to complete it. The child's version of the story can then be analysed for insightful information about their mental well-being.
Superego
According to Sigmund Freud, the superego is a kind of censor of the self, the nature of which is imposed by parental or social forces in early life. In short, it is the agent of self-criticism and self-observation. Compare to the ego and the id.
T
Therapist
Someone who practices therapy, most commonly psychotherapy.
Trauma/traumatic
An injury to the mind/psyche and/or to the physical brain itself, which can result in mental and/or behavioural disorders. Traumatic is an adjective used to describe an event that involves trauma.
U
Unconscious
Mental or psychic processes of which we are not aware (conscious), and yet which strongly influence our mental patterns and behaviour.