APA

a hospital where patients receive a full range of treatment services during the day and return to their homes at night. Services include individual and group therapy, psychological evaluation, occupational and recreational therapy, and somatic therapy. The concept was introduced to North America in 1946 by Scottish-born psychiatrist Donald Ewen Cameron (1901-1967) as an alternative to inpatient treatment and, together with partial hospitalization, grew as a result of deinstitutionalization. It is now used in rehabilitation as well as mental health care. See also DAY TREATMENT; NIGHT HOSPITAL.
a form of government in which the people either participate in the political process themselves or elect others to do so on their behalf (representative democracy) and in which decisions are made by majority vote.
more loosely, any society in which all citizens have equal rights and in which certain basic freedoms, such as freedom of speech, are upheld. See also OPEN SOCIETY.
in the United States, a court dealing with all issues concerned with child abuse and neglect; such issues are brought to the attention of the court by a government agency (typically Child Protective Services), which intervenes on behalf of the child by filing a petition alleging abuse or neglect.
a clinic, hospital unit, or other facility devoted to the alleviation of the toxic effects of drug or alcohol overdose and to the management of acute withdrawal symptoms. These centers may focus on either medical or nonmedical procedures, depending on the severity of the syndromes handled. See ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL; SUBSTANCE WITHDRAWAL.
in Hinduism, the principle of natural law that sustains and governs the cosmos. In a narrower sense, the term denotes the social laws and customs that must be followed to achieve the right path of spiritual advancement.
in Buddhism, the cosmic law underlying the world of humans, above all, the law of karmic rebirth (see KARMA). The term has multiple other meanings, including the truth as set out in the teachings of the Buddha, norms of behavior and ethical rules, the manifestation of reality, and the content of human thought. [Sanskrit, literally: "carrying, holding"]
disagreement with majority opinion or established social norms.
disagreement with government policies, especially as expressed through organized protests or social ACTIVISM. See also CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE; PASSIVE RESISTANCE.
an individual, usually an MD, PhD, or PsyD, trained and licensed to deliver medical or mental health care services.
lack of confidence or uncertainty about something or someone, including the self. Doubt may center on everyday concerns (can I accomplish this task?), issues of daily living (can I change this ingrained habit?), or the very meaning of life itself (see EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY; EXISTENTIAL CRISIS). It is a perception, typically with a strong affective component, that is frequently a focus during psychotherapeutic intervention.
acts or threats (e.g., the threat of confinement) that compel people to act or speak against their will (e.g., to make a COERCED CONFESSION).
a family in which relationships or communication are impaired and members are unable to attain closeness and self-expression. Members of a dysfunctional family often develop symptomatic behaviors, and often one individual in the family presents as the IDENTIFIED PATIENT.