PSYCHOTHERAPY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does psychotherapy mean? 

• PSYCHOTHERAPY (noun)
  The noun PSYCHOTHERAPY has 2 senses:

1. the branch of psychiatry concerned with psychological methods

2. the treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means

  Familiarity information: PSYCHOTHERAPY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PSYCHOTHERAPY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of psychiatry concerned with psychological methods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

mental hygiene; psychotherapeutics; psychotherapy

Hypernyms ("psychotherapy" is a kind of...):

psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "psychotherapy"):

clinical psychology (the branch of psychology concerned with the treatment of abnormal mentation and behavior)

Freudian psychology (the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud)

Jungian psychology (the psychological theories of Carl Jung)

Derivation:

psychotherapeutic (of or relating to or practicing psychotherapy)

psychotherapist (a therapist who deals with mental and emotional disorders)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("psychotherapy" is a kind of...):

therapy ((medicine) the act of caring for someone (as by medication or remedial training etc.))

Domain member category:

free-associate (associate freely)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "psychotherapy"):

behavior modification; behavior therapy (psychotherapy that seeks to extinguish or inhibit abnormal or maladaptive behavior by reinforcing desired behavior and extinguishing undesired behavior)

client-centered therapy (a method of psychotherapy developed by Carl Rogers in which the client determines the focus and pace of each session)

crisis intervention (psychotherapy that focuses on acute critical situations (depressive episodes or attempted suicides or drug overdoses) with the aim of restoring the person to the level of functioning before the crisis)

group psychotherapy; group therapy (psychotherapy in which a small group of individuals meet with a therapist; interactions among the members are considered to be therapeutic)

hypnotherapy (the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy)

play therapy (form of psychotherapy for children that uses play situations for diagnosis or treatment)

analysis; depth psychology; psychoanalysis (a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud)

self-analysis (the application of psychotherapeutic principles to the analysis of your own personality)

Derivation:

psychotherapeutic (of or relating to or practicing psychotherapy)

psychotherapist (a therapist who deals with mental and emotional disorders)

 Context examples 

Art therapy is sometimes used together with psychotherapy (talk therapy).

(Art therapy, NCI Dictionary)

A social worker trained in psychotherapy who helps individuals deal with a variety of mental health and daily living problems to improve overall functioning.

(Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NCI Thesaurus)

A type of psychotherapy that helps patients change their behavior by changing the way they think and feel about certain things.

(CBT, NCI Dictionary)

Treatments include medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of both.

(Mood Disorders, NIH)

In this form of psychotherapy, symbols from the patient's verbalizations, dreams, and interactions are interpreted for meaning in their everyday lives.

(Interpretive Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

Other treatments include psychotherapy, relaxation and meditation therapy, biofeedback, and behavior modification.

(Chronic Pain, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

A technique used to change subjects' behavior, for example, psychotherapy, lifestyle counseling or hypnosis.

(Behavioral Intervention, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A type of psychotherapy utilized to treat different forms of mental disorders.The treatment involves the identification of unhelpful or destructive patterns of thinking and behaviors and the subsequent replacement with behaviors that are beneficial and constructive.

(Cognitive behavior therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

Psychotherapy of the Freudian school.

(Interpretive Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)