ABPS Psychiatry key terms

An acute, fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness, usually caused by a medical condition, medication, or withdrawal, with altered cognition that is not better explained by a pre-existing dementia.

A chronic, progressive decline in one or more cognitive domains that is severe enough to interfere with independent daily functioning and is not attributable to delirium or another mental disorder.

A rare, life-threatening reaction to dopamine-blocking drugs marked by rigidity, hyperthermia, autonomic instability, and altered consciousness, typically with markedly elevated creatine kinase.

A potentially fatal toxidrome from serotonergic excess or drug interaction, characterized by mental status change, autonomic hyperactivity, and neuromuscular abnormalities such as clonus and hyperreflexia.

A late-onset, often persistent movement disorder of involuntary choreoathetoid movements, most commonly of the tongue, face, and jaw, arising after prolonged dopamine antagonist exposure.

Acute drug-induced movement abnormalities including parkinsonism, dystonia, akathisia, and tremor, typically arising from dopamine D2 receptor blockade and often responsive to anticholinergic or beta-blocking treatment.

An abnormally lengthened corrected QT interval on electrocardiography that raises the risk of torsades de pointes, relevant to many antipsychotics, tricyclics, and methadone, especially with metabolic inhibitors or electrolyte disturbance.

Serial measurement of plasma drug concentrations to guide dosing, used for agents with narrow therapeutic indices or variable metabolism such as lithium, clozapine, valproate, and tricyclic antidepressants.

An atypical antipsychotic reserved for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, uniquely effective but requiring regular blood monitoring because of agranulocytosis risk, plus vigilance for myocarditis, seizures, and severe constipation.

Schizophrenia that has not responded adequately to trials of at least two different antipsychotics at appropriate dose and duration, prompting consideration of clozapine and reassessment of the diagnosis.

A self-limited cluster of symptoms such as dizziness, paresthesias, nausea, and irritability following abrupt reduction of a serotonergic antidepressant, most likely with short half-life agents.

A mood stabilizer with antisuicidal and prophylactic efficacy in bipolar disorder, requiring monitoring of renal and thyroid function and levels because of its narrow therapeutic window and toxicity risk.

A somatic treatment using controlled generalized seizures under anesthesia for severe depression, catatonia, and other conditions, notable for rapid onset and efficacy in treatment-resistant or life-threatening presentations.

A syndrome of psychomotor abnormalities such as stupor, mutism, negativism, posturing, and waxy flexibility, occurring across psychiatric and medical conditions and frequently responsive to benzodiazepines or electroconvulsive therapy.

A clinical state of impaired reality testing manifesting as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, or grossly disorganized behavior, arising from psychiatric, neurologic, toxic, or metabolic causes.

A fixed false belief held with conviction despite strong contradictory evidence and not explained by the person's cultural or educational background.

A perception experienced without an external stimulus, in any sensory modality, that has the quality of a real perception; auditory hallucinations are most characteristic of psychotic disorders.

Disturbance in the form or flow of thinking inferred from speech, including derailment, loosening of associations, tangentiality, and incoherence, distinct from the content of delusions.

A structured clinical assessment of appearance, behavior, speech, mood and affect, thought process and content, perception, cognition, insight, and judgment, forming the core observational component of the psychiatric interview.

A brief, widely used cognitive screening instrument scoring orientation, registration, attention, recall, language, and visuospatial function, with results influenced by education and sensory ability.

Delusions or hallucinations whose content is consistent with the prevailing depressed or elevated mood, such as guilt-themed or grandiose themes, used to help distinguish mood disorders from primary psychotic disorders.

A mood disorder defined by at least one manic episode, which may be preceded or followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes and often requires mood stabilization rather than antidepressant monotherapy.

A mood disorder requiring at least two weeks of depressed mood or anhedonia plus additional symptoms causing impairment, not attributable to a substance, medical condition, or manic history.

A trauma-related disorder with intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and hyperarousal persisting beyond one month after exposure to actual or threatened death, injury, or violence.

A disorder of recurrent intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to reduce distress, which are time-consuming or impairing and not better explained by another condition.

A structured, present-focused psychotherapy targeting maladaptive thoughts and behaviors through identification and modification of cognitive distortions and graded behavioral change, with strong evidence across many disorders.

A behavioral technique in which a patient confronts feared stimuli or situations without avoidance, allowing anxiety to extinguish through repeated, prolonged contact and preventing safety behaviors.

The patient's unconscious redirection onto the therapist of feelings, expectations, and relational patterns originally associated with important early figures, which can be interpreted as therapeutic material.

The clinician's own emotional reactions to a patient, often shaped by the clinician's personal history, which may distort treatment and can also provide useful information when recognized.

The collaborative emotional bond and shared agreement on goals and tasks between patient and clinician, consistently associated with treatment engagement and outcome across therapy modalities.

A structured clinical evaluation of suicidal ideation, intent, plan, access to means, prior attempts, protective factors, and psychiatric and medical contributors, used to guide safety planning and level of care.

Legal detention and treatment of a person without consent, justified by criteria such as mental illness with danger to self or others or grave disability, subject to statutory and due-process safeguards.

Authorization for evaluation or treatment given by a patient with decision-making capacity after receiving and understanding information about the nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives, offered voluntarily.

A clinical determination that a patient can understand relevant information, appreciate its significance, reason about options, and communicate a choice; it is task-specific and distinct from legal competence.

A legal obligation, arising in some jurisdictions, to take reasonable steps such as warning or protecting an identifiable third party threatened by a patient, following risk assessment and applicable law.

The ethical and legal duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure, subject to exceptions such as imminent danger, mandated reporting, and court order.

A severe withdrawal syndrome with confusion, agitation, autonomic instability, and hallucinations occurring after heavy prolonged alcohol use, carrying significant mortality and requiring aggressive medical management.

A time-limited syndrome after cessation or reduction of heavy alcohol use, ranging from tremor and anxiety to seizures, with symptom-triggered benzodiazepine treatment guided by validated scales.

A problematic pattern of opioid use causing impairment or distress, with tolerance and withdrawal, for which opioid agonist therapies such as buprenorphine and methadone are first-line treatments.