Category: P

An imprecise term used to designate sexual variance. Sexual deviation. A form of behaviour which is thought to be unnatural, dangerous or disgusting. Action considered unnatural or abnormal, especially a sexual activity deviating from what is considered normal. Any abnormal sexual behavior. (An equivalent term with less derogatory implications is deviation.) The abnormality may be…

A therapeutic approach based on direct suggestion and guidance intended to influence favorably patients’ attitudes, behaviors, and goals. The act of influencing the thinking or behavior of others.  

Characterized by a pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent. This distrust is shown in many ways, including unreasonable expectation of exploitation or harm by others; questioning without justification the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates; reading demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events; having…

Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that begin by early adulthood and are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts. These patterns are inflexible and maladaptive, causing either significant functional impairment or subjective distress. Many types of personality or personality disorders have been described.…

Alterations in characteristic patterns of relating to the environment and the self that occur from social, psychological, or physical stressors such as having catastrophic experiences, having a mental disorder, or having a general medical condition (e.g., brain trauma). The personality shows a definite change from the preexisting personality; in children, there is a significant change…

The characteristic way in which a person thinks, feels, and behaves; the ingrained pattern of behavior that each person evolves, both consciously and unconsciously, as his or her style of life or way of being in adapting to the environment. The basic organization of a person’s characteristic adjustment to the environment. All the characteristics which…

In Jungian theory (Carl Gustav Jung, 1875–1961), the personality mask or facade that each person presents to the outside world, as distinguished from the person’s inner being, or anima (animus). The mask or face a person presents to others. In psychology, the personality role that a person assumes and presents to the world. The attitude…

Tendency to emit the same verbal or motor response again and again to varied stimuli. Persistent continuation of a line of thought or activity. The act of repeating actions or words without-any stimulus. Perseveration is defined as the involuntary and pathological persistence of the same verbal response or motor activity regardless of the stimulus or…

A compound medication—consisting of perphenazine (a conventional antipsychotic) and amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant)—used to treat anxiety, agitation, and depression. Now available only as generic but may still be known by the discontinued brand names etrafon and triavil.  

A conventional antipsychotic medication (a phenothiazine of the piperazine class) used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Now available only as generic but may still be known by the discontinued brand name trilafon. An antipsychotic drug. Tranquilizer and antidepressant used to treat some types of depression, anxiety, and agitation; it is also an antiemetic,…