Affective - Related to or resulting from the emotions.
Affective disorder - Formerly called mood disorder, affective disorder is the name for types of mental illnesses that are characterized by extreme emotional responses and persistent mood disturbances. Bipolar disorder and depression are types of affective disorders.
Alzheimer's Disease - Usually occurring later in life, Alzheimer's disease is an extremely debilitating condition that is characterized by progressive impairment of overall mental function, including dementia. Scientific research has found that Alzheimer's disease is linked to dying brain cells. Currently there is no effective treatment for this disease. It is irreversible.
Antipsychotics - A group of medications used to treat psychotic illnesses.
Apathy - A symptom of several mental illnesses, apathy is a lack of emotion or interest in things one would ordinarily consider important. 
Bipolar disorder - Sometimes referred to as manic depression, bipolar disorder is a serious affective disorder, typically beginning in adolescence or early adulthood, in which dramatic swings between manic "highs" and depressed "lows" alternate with periods of normal mood. A person with bipolar disorder may feel extremely excited with seemingly boundless energy, then suddenly feel bitterly sad and depressed.
Case manager - The health care professional who works directly with clients, coordinates various activities, and acts as the clients' primary contact with other members of their treatment teams. Case managers are often social workers.
Delusion - A symptom of many mental illnesses, a delusion is an illogical belief that is held strongly, even in the face of evidence that it is false.
Dementia - Frequently seen in older patients, dementia is a decline in overall mental ability, especially memory loss, and is usually accompanied by emotional disturbances and personality changes. Dementia can be caused by several conditions, such as a brain tumor, however, the most common cause is Alzheimer's disease.
Depression - A spectrum of affective disorders, ranging from passing sad moods to serious, crippling disease requiring medical treatment. Major depression is a "whole body" disorder, impacting the patient's emotions (feelings of guilt and hopelessness or loss of pleasure in once enjoyed activities), thinking (persistent thoughts of death or suicide; difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions), behavior (changes in sleep patterns, appetite, or weight),and even their physical well-being (persistent symptoms, such as headaches or digestive disorders, that do not respond to treatment).
Discharge planner - The person on the hospital staff who makes plans for your health care outside of the hospital. A discharge planner can be a nurse, doctor, resident/intern, or social worker.
Hallucination - A false or distorted perception of objects or events, including sensations of sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch, typically accompanied by a powerful sense of their reality.
Intern - A graduate of a medical school who is being trained in a hospital in preparation for licensing.
Mania - A collection of symptoms seen in bipolar disorder and other affective disorders. A manic episode may include exaggerated gaiety; grandiose thoughts and a sense of invincibility; irritability; hyperactivity; hypersexuality; poor concentration; and rapid thinking and speaking.
Mental illness - A general term for a wide range of disorders involving the brain where there are varying degrees of impaired mental functioning and where both psychological and behavioral symptoms may be exhibited.
Negative symptoms - In schizophrenia, symptoms such as lack of drive or initiative, social withdrawal, and apathy. These symptoms are called "negative" because the behavior takes away from what is considered normal.
Neuroleptics - A group of medications used to treat psychotic illnesses.
Nurse - A person specially trained to provide services that are essential to or helpful in the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health and well-being.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder - A potentially disabling anxiety disorder in which individuals become entrapped in repetitive patterns of thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions)that are senseless, distressing, and extremely difficult to overcome.
Occupational therapist - A person trained to provide therapy through creative activity that promotes recovery or rehabilitation.
Panic disorder - An anxiety disorder in which unprovoked episodes of intense fear – accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat and dizziness – occur repeatedly and unexpectedly. People with panic disorder often develop agoraphobia, a fear of being in situations that might provoke another attack, or from which escape might be difficult if one occurred.
Paranoia - An insidiously developing pattern of unfounded thoughts and fears, often based on misinterpretation of actual events. People with paranoia may consider themselves endowed with unique and superior abilities or may have the delusion that others are conspiring to do them harm.
Pharmacist - A person licensed to sell or dispense prescription drugs.
Phobias - A group of anxiety disorders characterized by intense, irrational fears, either of particular things or situations, such as snakes, heights, confined spaces, water, or flying (specific phobias) or of being embarrassed or humiliated in a social setting (social phobia).
Physician assistant - A person certified to perform certain duties of a medical doctor, such as prescribing medication, performing a physical examination, or ordering diagnostic tests.
Positive symptoms - In schizophrenia, symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and agitation. These symptoms are called "positive" because the behavior adds to what is considered normal.
Primary mental health care clinician - The health care provider whom you see the most for your mental health care. This may be your doctor, physician assistant, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, or social worker.
Psychiatric resident - A licensed medical doctor who is being trained in a psychiatric specialty at a hospital.
Psychiatrist - A medical doctor who specialized in psychiatry. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, and prevention of mental illness.
Psychologist - A nonmedical professional who has completed graduate education and training and is qualified to perform psychological research, testing, or therapy.
Psychosis - A group of symptoms in major mental illness that include loss of contact with reality, and breakdown of normal social functioning, and extreme personality changes. Psychotic episodes may be short-lived or chronic and worsening. People affected may experience hallucinations, delusions, regressive behavior, and an inability to control impulses.
Psychotherapy - A form of treatment for mental disorders based primarily on verbal communication between the patient and a mental health professional, often combined with prescribed medications. Psychotherapy can be done in one-on-one sessions with a therapist or in a group setting where other patients also participate.
Regressive behavior - In mental illness, thoughts or actions that are typical of earlier life stages, such as infancy or childhood.
Rehabilitation specialist - A title often used interchangeably with case manager.
Residential supervisor - A person in charge of a group home or a unit within a residential treatment facility. Residential supervisors help with the problems of daily living, check to be sure that residents take their medications, and know how to handle crises when they occur.
Schizophrenia - A complex and severe mental disorder, thought to be caused by imbalances in brain chemistry, which results in abnormal thinking and behavior, including hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal, distorted thought processes, and inappropriate or "blunted" emotional expression.
Social worker - A graduate of a school of social work who holds either a bachelor's or master's degree and who is trained in effective ways of helping the mentally ill, the poor, the elderly, and other groups in need of assistance.
Split personality - A slang term often inaccurately associated with schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.
Stigma - A general term for the widespread fear and misunderstanding of mental illness among uninformed people, together with their negative attitudes toward those who suffer from them.
Symptom - A reported feeling or specific observable physical sign of a patient's condition that indicates a physical or mental abnormality.
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