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Chronic Illness
- An illness that lasts for an extended period of time, sometimes a lifetime.
Episodic Disability
- A long-term disability that has periods of good health, followed by periods of
disability. The severity and
consistency of these periods vary between people.
Identity-first language
- A way of speaking that emphasizes a person’s identity. For example, I am a disabled
person.
Invisible Disability/ Hidden disability
- Any disability that is not immediately noticeable.
Person-first language
- A way of speaking that emphasizes a person being separate from their diagnosis. For
example, he lives with
depression, or he has depression.
Person with a disability
- A person with a mental or physical impairment that significantly limits one or more
major life activities.
Faith & Beliefs
Religious Affiliation
- How an individual associates themselves with a particular religion, denomination,
or religious group.
Spirituality
- Strong consideration for the human spirit or soul.
Identities
2SLGBTQ+
- An umbrella term that refers to all sexual and gender identities outside of
heterosexual and cisgender
identities. These include (but are
not limited to) Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Agender, Non-binary
and
Pansexual identities.
Heterosexual (Medium):
- Sexual or romantic attraction to the opposite gender (assuming that there are only
two genders).
Cisgender
- Identifying with the gender one was assigned at birth.
Two Spirit
- An umbrella term used in Inidgenous cultures to describe an individual who has both
a masculine and a feminine
spirit.
Lesbian
- A woman who is attracted to other women.
Gay
- A man who is attracted to other men.
Bisexual
- A person who is romantically or sexually attracted to more than one gender
Transgender
- A person whose gender identity does not correspond with the one they were assigned
at birth.
Queer
- A term to describe any identity under the 2SLGBTQIA+ umbrella.
lntersex
- A person whose sexual or reproductive anatomy does not match the typical definition
of “male” or “female”.
Asexual
- A person who does not feel sexual attraction to others.
Agender
- Someone who does not identify with any particular gender.
Non-binary
- An individual who does not exclusively identify with either “male” or “female”
gender identities.
Pansexual
- A person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of any gender or
sexuality.
Adoption / Kinship
- Adoption: Legally taking in another person’s child and raising it as your own
child; Kinship: blood
relationship
BIPOC
- An acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour.
Disabled
- The result of combinations of impairments and environmental barriers that affect
people’s full participation in
society
Ethnicity
- Identity based on a shared culture and history.
Gender Expression
- A way a person expresses heir gender identity in appearance, dress, behaviour.
Gender Identity
- A persons gender in which they identify with, may or may not be related to their
biological sex and gender given
at birth. A gender that an individual deeply identifies with, that may more may not be the same as their gender
assigned at birth.
Monogamy
- Being in a romantic relationship with one person at a time.
Non-binary
- Gender identities that are beyond that of a man or woman.
Non-monogamy/Polyamory
- Engaging in romantic and/or sexual relationships with more than one person, where
all parties consent.
Oppression
- The use of power and privilege over disadvantaged groups in order to maintain that
power and privilege.
Oppression can be in the form of physical, psychological,
social, economic threats or force.
Personal/Gender Pronouns
- The pronoun a person chooses to use for themselves. Gender pronouns are used to
refer to people in sentences and
conversations. Can include and is not limited to: he/him/his (masculine
pronouns) she/her/hers (feminine pronouns) they/them/theirs (neutral pronouns) ze/zir/zirs (neutral pronouns)
ze/hir/hirs (neutral pronouns).
Postnatal health
- The wellbeing and care given to a mother and newborn baby after birth.
Privilege
- Unearned power, benefits, advantages, access and/or opportunities.
Race
- An identity based on shared physical characteristics attributed to a group of
people who typically have a common
geographic origin. A group of people that are categorized based on shared physical or social qualities within a
specific geographical area.
Racialization
- The process by which ethnic or racial identities are assigned to a relationship,
social practice, or group that
did not identify as such.
Sexual Orientation
- A person's pattern of which gender(s) they tend to be attracted to romantically,
emotionally, and sexually.
Practice Orientation
Affirming
- The act of confirming something to be true and providing assurance.
Body-Positive
- A perspective and movement that works toward acceptance of all bodies.
Feminist
- A perspective that supports and advocates for women’s rights and interests.
Kink-positive
- A perspective to therapy that is accepting and non-shaming of all types of sexual
preferences.
Sex-positive
- A perspective that views sex and sexuality as positive aspects of life.
Psychology Specific
Addiction
- A physiological dependency on a substance influenced by biological, environmental,
and social factors.
Burnout
- Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion from long periods of stress.
Complex trauma
- Multiple traumas experienced resulting in persistent feelings of shame, guilt
affecting well-being.
Compulsion
- Repetitive behaviour(s) or action(s) that an individual feels they must perform.
Cultural sensitivity
- or “cultural humility” is when you are a learner and not a teacher when it comes
understanding alternative
perspectives.
Dissociation
- A coping strategy to manage feelings of being overwhelmed-may feel like periods of
time have passed and you have
no memory of what happened.
Emotion Regulation
- The ability to respond to situations without the influence of intense emotion. This
includes the ability to be
flexible, and even delay, emotional reactions.
Intergenerational trauma
- Multiple traumatic events a community experiences over generations.
Mad
- A self-chosen identity for those use mental health services currently, or have used
mental health services in
the past. Typically referring to a mental illness.
Neurodiverse/Neurodivergent
- An individual whose cognitive functioning is deemed to be outside of what is
considered “normal” by society at
large.
Obsession
- An individual’s fixation on an idea or thought that may preoccupy their mind.
Phobia
- An extreme fear of something.
Psychiatric Consumer/Survivor
- Those who are using psychiatric services, or those who have used psychiatric
services in the past.
Risky health behaviors
- Activities carried out by an individual that could have negative consequences for
their physical or mental
health.
Self-disclosure
- A process of communication where one person reveals information about themselves to
another. In a therapeutic
alliance, the therapist can choose to “self-disclose” and reveal information about themselves including their
thoughts, feelings, aspirations, goals, failures, successes.
Sliding scale
- A way of structuring fees for therapy that some professionals use to provide lower
fees to those with fewer
resources to pay.
Trauma
- is a response to a terrifying event that overwhelms someone’s ability to cope
causing feelings of hopelessness.
Professional Designations & Ontario Regulatory Bodies
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
- A governing body that regulates the practices of Psychotherapists in Ontario.
People practicing psychotherapy must
be registered with the CRPO.
OCSWSSW (The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers)
- A professional organization that sets out guidelines for social workers to follow
when they work with the public,
to ensure public safety. Social Workers and Social Service Workers must be registered with the College to
officially
use these professional titles.
Psychiatrist
- A professional with a medical degree and speciality training in psychiatry who is
also able to prescribe
medications. They are OHIP covered and provide diagnostic assessment and treatment recommendations.
Psychological associate
- A licensed professional who is trained in assessing and treating mental health
issues. They have a Master’s degree
in Psychology, and tend to work under experienced clinicians’ supervision. Unlike a registered psychologist,
they do
not have a doctoral level degree.
Psychologist
- A professional with a PhD in the field of psychology, who performs talk therapy as
well as psychological testing
and diagnostic assessments. Their fees are not covered by OHIP and they cannot prescribe medication.
Psychotherapist
- A professional who is trained to treat people for their emotional concerns.
Psychotherapists must be registered
with the Ontario College of Psychotherapists.
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
- A therapist who has completed their official training and is registered with the
College of Registered
Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), but can only practice with clinical supervision (supported by a more
experienced
clinician) until they meet Registered Psychotherapist requirements. These requirements include completing
supervision hours and writing an exam.
Registered Social Worker
- A professional who provides psychological and emotional support to individuals.
Social workers work from the
biopsychosocial perspective, meaning that they consider many different factors (including the person’s
environment)
in their practice. A social worker can work in a variety of settings and many provide psychotherapy services
upon
obtaining their MSW (Master’s degree in Social Work).
Therapeutic Modality
Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Motivates people to accept their emotions and thoughts instead of resisting or
feeling bad about them.
Anti-oppression
- A practice that emphasizes the systemic and institutionalized oppression that
impacts groups and communities.
Cognitive Behavioural (CBT)
- A therapeutic approach that focuses on challenging thoughts and behaviours that
cause distress and replacing them
with new coping mechanisms and problem solving solutions.
Dialectical Behavioural (DBT)
- A therapeutic approach falling under the category of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT), focusing on providing
strategies to assist the individual in feeling more in control of their emotions and behaviours. There is an
emphasis on developing skills pertaining to interpersonal relationships.
Emotion Focused (EFT)
- A therapeutic approach that focuses on emotions as being key to one’s identity. It
assumes that lacking emotional
awareness or avoiding unpleasant emotions can cause harm.
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Therapy for PTSD using eye movements to help process traumatic memories.
Gestalt
- A holistic, person-centered form of psychotherapy that is focused on an
individual’s present life and challenges
rather than delving into past experiences.
Internal family systems
- Creates methods and approaches to fix problems successfully within the inner group
or family of a person.
Intersectionality
- The connection between various social categories such as race, gender, ability,
class, religion, sexual
orientation, sexual identity, etc. The combination of identities can have a unique impact on the individual.
Mindfulness
- The ability to be in the present, noticing thoughts good & bad without
judgment.
Mindfulness-based therapies
- Therapy that utilizes meditation to practice non-judgement and self-peace.
Motivational Interviewing
- Reflects on the development and solution of doubt and relies on specific
motivational factors that promote
improvement.
Narrative therapy
- Therapy that believes the person is in control of their own story. Sharing
narratives, or story-telling, can be
used to identify the person's strengths.
Play Therapy
- A psychotherapeutic approach primarily used to help children ages 3-12 to explore
their lives and freely express
repressed thoughts and emotions through play.
Positive psychology
- Scientific study of what makes life worth living by looking at positive features of
the individual.
Sensory integration
- A process where we collect sensory information through touch, smell, sight, taste,
and sound.
Sex therapy
- Discusses sexual issues with couples and/or individuals.
Somatic Therapy
- A type of therapy that places importance on the mind-body connection.
Trauma focused therapy
- Provides skills and methods to help to better understand, cope, and manage feelings
and thoughts related to
traumatic events.
Trauma informed therapy**
- Therapists create a trusting place to help clients connect past trauma to body
reactions with a focus on
healing. (not sure what does * indicate).