Glossary

• Current generation antidepressant drugs (SSRIs): These have a specific focus on various neurotransmitter systems of the brain such as the serotonin system.  Drugs that principally focus on the serotonin system are called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Antidepressants (or SSRIs for short and include the big three, Prozac™, Paxil™, and Zoloft™).  These drugs keep serotonin more available at the synapses between brain cells, which may aid in firing the next neuron (brain cell) in the chain.  Some drugs also impact the norepinephrine system.
   
• Chemical Imbalance: The theory that mood (depression, anxiety and OCD) is caused by an imbalance of serotonin or norepinephrine in the brain.
   
• Tricyclic Antidepressants: These were the earlier or first generation antidepressants such as Elavil™, which are still in current use today but are overshadowed by current generation drugs such as Prozac™, Zoloft™, and Paxil™.
   
• “Believers”: Those lay people who have a strong commitment to the use of antidepressant drugs in the treatment of depression and anxiety or both.  These people endorse the commonly accepted idea that depression is a disease, a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is effectively treated by an antidepressant drug alone.
   
• “Proponents”: Those who have a vested interest or an extremely strong commitment to antidepressant drugs for monetary, professional turf, or public “welfare” reasons.  All “proponents” and most “believers” are strongly committed to the notion that depression is basically a biological disease and any approach to treating it behaviorally or non-biologically is doomed to be inadequate.
   
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): One of several types of psychotherapy for treating both depression and anxiety.  CBT was developed and grew out of work begun by Aaron Beck, M.D., a psychiatrist, and many other psychologists.  The basic premise of the theory is that it is not so much what happens to us that leads to depression; rather, it is what we tell ourselves about what happens to us that makes us depressed.  A significant part of the therapy is to help the patient become aware of the erroneous thoughts that makes them and keeps them depressed.
   
• Schizophrenia: A psychotic disorder characterized in the active phase by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts/speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, and apathy.
   
• Bipolar I and II Disorders: Bipolar I is a psychotic disorder characterized by one or more manic episodes.  It is a new term for the older Manic-Depressive Psychosis.  Bipolar II is used when the patient has not had the history of a manic (psychotic) episode, but seemingly shares other characteristics with Bipolar II patients.
   
• Anxiety Disorders include Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia (avoidance of places or situations in which help may not be available during a panic attack), Specific Phobias (e.g., riding an escalator), Social Phobia, Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Anxiety Due to a General Medical Condition, Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Stated.
   
• Anxiolytic drugs or Anxiolytics: A class of drugs for the treatment of anxiety, many of which are benzodiazepines such as the earlier Valium™ and current Xanax™.  They are addictive and should only be used for short-term use.  These drugs are also habituating in that dosage increases are required to maintain the same effect.  Withdrawal from these drugs usually requires detoxification in a hospital.
   
• Rebound Phenomena: The tendency for the fear reaction (e.g., panic attack) to increase in frequency and intensity over its pre-treatment level when an anxiolytic drug is stopped.
   
• Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs or Atypicals: Newer drugs for Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder. The atypicals are much more expensive than the earlier generation drugs such as Haldol™, which are still commonly used.
   
• Organic Disease: A disease characterized by morbid (serious and progressive) changes in the structure of the organs of the body or in the compositions of its fluids; as opposed to “functional” disease.
   
• Antidepressant Drug Clinical Trial, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Study: The clinical trials of a new drug to obtain approval by the FDA are conducted by psychiatrist-researchers and largely paid for by the sponsoring drug company.  Subjects, once selected for the study, are randomly assigned to the drug condition or an inert placebo-controlled condition.  These studies are referred to as “double-blind,” meaning neither the subject nor the prescriber/rater knows whether the subject is on the drug or placebo.
   
• Effect Size: A statistical operation that gives the power of a drug or a procedure (e.g., a program of exercise or a program of remedial tutoring) on the dependent variable (such as reduction of depression or weight loss).  A strong Effect Size is 1.00 standard deviations or above.  An Effect Size less than 1.00 is considered weak.
   
• Personality Disorders: These are enduring, life-time patterns of maladaptive behavior that deviate markedly from the expectations of the person’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, and has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood.  The specific disorders are Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypical, Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Personality Disorder Not Otherwise specified.  These are incurable conditions and most competent therapists manage rather than treat these disorders since the term “treatment” implies a cure.