Dr Pari Farzim

Analytic Therapy: type of therapy based on the psychoanalytical approach – see Psychoanalysis.

 

Attachment Theory: psychological theory centered on the first emotional relationship of the person with another person – generally the mother or the person who acted as such. For John Bowlby, who founded this theory, the features of this first relationship determine how we will, from them on, enter into relationships with others.

 

Systemic Therapy: type of therapy that sees the individual as part of a system, a network of relationships (the family, society…) and that seeks to modify this specific area.

 

Brief Therapy: includes various approaches, all of which have in common a small number of sessions (generally between 10 and 12) and the definition of objectives at the onset. The therapist has an active role.

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT): type of therapies aiming primarily at understanding and altering the way in which the patient thinks (cognition) and acts (behavior). With the help of the therapist, the patient tries, for instance, to spot types of situations that automatically trigger specific behaviors and/or thoughts; once this has been accomplished, exercises allow to transform said behaviors and/or thoughts. This allows, for instance, to “tame” phobias thanks to a gradual familiarization process, or to modify automatic thoughts that have to do with self-esteem or anxiety, amongst others.

 

Hypnosis: It is an active state of intense concentration during which thoughts are more focused, and the unconscious is extraordinarily receptive and open to suggestions. For the American Psychological Association hypnosis is a process during which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or subject experience, changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behaviors.

 

Inter-Personal Therapy (IPT): type of therapy, generally short-term, centered on human interactions and how they relate to the person’s symptoms. The aim is to try and develop methods allowing to alter and improve the patient’s relationships with others.

 

Mental imagery: It is used in different therapeutic contexts and aims to bring into the mind images produced by the imagination and the unconscious in a way as it happens in a dream. It draws into the body's ability to know what he is experiencing and what is good for him. Most of the time, the mental imagery is done with the assistance of a therapist who can guide the patient and help him understand the meaning and draw the practical applications.

 

Meditation: There are generally two main groups: concentrative meditation which focuses the attention on a mantra or an object that will allow us to go to the thoughtless mind, and the mindfulness meditation type, which is centered in the awareness of the present experiences or bodily sensations. Yoga is an example of concentrative meditation. The repetition of a phrase (mantra) causes a state close to a hypnotic state. This type of meditation helps, in different ways, to ward off logical, rational thoughts and conceptual thinking (including "automatic thoughts").

 

Mindfulness or Mindfulness: According to Jon Kabat-Zin, it is a state of consciousness that results when attention is brought, intentionally into the present moment, without judgment, experiencing what that unfolds moment by moment. This is a technique derived from Buddhist psychology. It is effective for the treatment of depression, chronic anxiety, insomnia, stress, and managing impulsivity.

 

Problem-solving therapy: Finds its source in the cognitive-behavioral tradition and was developed by Arthur M. Nezu and Christine Nezu Maguth, both American psychologists. It aims to help people improve their ability to solve problems in order to better cope with stressful experiences of life and prevent them. The results of the problem solving type of each person are determined by two processes: orientation to problems and problem-solving style. The therapy aims to improve the positive direction, to promote the implementation of specific strategies, to reduce the negative orientation, and minimize the tendency to engage in a dysfunctional way of resolution.

 

Psychoanalysis: method that allows to explore oneself, and type of therapy based on becoming aware of the “unconscious”; it focuses largely on childhood, and the person’s significant experiences throughout the analysis.

Psychodrama: type of therapy, especially used with groups, based on improvised role-play, allowing to act out conflicts and to deal with neuroses.

 

Psychological Tests: tests developed by psychologists, allowing to measure specific features (such as the various dimensions of intelligence) or to grasp the personality of someone (projective tests such as Rorschach’s ink blots, where the person talks freely about an image that’s shown to him/her).

 

Psychologist: mental health professional, who holds at least a “Master 2” in psychology. Psychologists offer diagnoses, therapies, and in some cases, tests (for instance, IQ tests for children who are experiencing problems in school).

 

Psychotherapist: person who offers mental health therapies.  Psychotherapists can be trained within the psycho-dynamic or systemic frame-work and whilst a psycho- dynamic psychotherapist works intra- psychically, the Systemic Psychotherapist works relationally paying attention to here and now and trying to understand the person’s difficulties in the context of their close relationship.

 

Social Support: emotional support, networks that the person has at his/her disposal (family, friends, etc.). This network is at the core of a number of therapies (such as Inter-Personal Therapy or Systemic Therapy)

Solution-Centered approach: type of therapy that takes a specific objective (such as a phobia or a difficult relationship with someone) instead of attempting (as is the case in psychoanalysis for instance) to explore the person’s entire mental life and all his/her issues.

 

Supervision: regular personal sessions for the mental health clinician, allowing him/her to talk about his/her practice with another mental health professional.

 

Support Therapy: type of therapy aiming at supporting the person throughout a difficult stage of life, such as an illness or a mourning process.

 

Talk Therapy: type of therapy that’s based on the patient’s verbalizations.

 

Visualization: This is our mental capacity to represent an object, a sound, a situation, a feeling, a sensation, an emotion, or an experience that includes some or all of these features, and can evoke an object of reality. Depending on its intensity, this representation can trigger more or less the same physiological effects as would the reality.