Category: P
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Psychiatric social work
A specialty of social work that is concerned with the prevention of mental illness, the treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill patients, and the prevention of relapse. Particular attention is given to familial, environmental, cultural, and other social factors that may be involved in the development, continuation, or recurrence of mental illness and in the…
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Psychiatric nurse
Any nurse employed in a psychiatric hospital or other psychiatric setting who has special training and experience in the management of psychiatric patients. Sometimes the term is used to denote only those nurses who have a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing. A registered nurse (RN) who has specialized training in nursing services related to psychiatric…
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Psychedelic
A term applied to any of several drugs that may induce hallucinations and altered mental states, including the production of distortions of time, sound, color, and so forth. Among the more commonly used psychedelics are LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), marijuana, mescaline, and psilocybin. A chemical that is purported to expand the consciousness. Referring to drugs…
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Psyche
The realm of the mind, as distinguished from the realm of the body, or soma. Mind, including conscious and unconscious processes; in psychoanalysis the total of the id, ego, superego, and all conscious and unconscious processes. The conscious and unconscious aspects of the mind, including thought, judgment, and emotion. The mind or the soul; the…
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Pseudoseizure
An attack that resembles an epileptic seizure but has psychological causes and lacks electroencephalographic dysrhythmia.
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Pseudologia fantastica
One of several terms applied to the behavior of habitual or compulsive lying. The stories are not entirely improbable and often have some element of truth. They are not a manifestation of delusions or some wider form of psychosis: upon confrontation, the person can acknowledge them to be untrue, even if unwillingly. The telling of…
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Pseudodementia
A syndrome in which dementia is mimicked or caricatured by a psychiatric disorder such as depression. Symptoms and response to mental status examination questions are similar to those found in verified cases of dementia. In pseudodementia, the chief diagnosis to be considered in the differential is depression in an older person versus cognitive deterioration on…
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Pseudocyesis
Included in dsm-iv-tr as a somatoform disorder not otherwise specified. Pseudocyesis is characterized by a false belief of being pregnant and by the occurrence of signs of being pregnant, such as abdominal enlargement, breast engorgement, and labor pains. False pregnancy; a condition in which a woman experiences symptoms of pregnancy, including cessation of menstruation, enlargement…
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Prozac
Brand name for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant drug fluoxetine. A trade name for fluoxetine.
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Provigil
Brand name for the atypical stimulant drug modafinil.