Key Terms

Any Mental Illness

is defined as “a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that can vary in impact, ranging from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment” ("Mental Illness"). 

Behavioral health

“describes the connection between actions and the health and well-being of the body, mind and spirit”; includes actions such as eating habits and exercising; (Behavioral Health vs. Mental Health).

Behavioral Health

during the 1970s and 1980s “almost entirely referred to processes that prevent illness or that promote health,” says the MEHAF; Later, the term began to include habits that help people manage disease (Behavioral Health vs. Mental Health).

Behavioral Health

as a discipline “refers to mental health, psychiatric, marriage and family counseling and addictions treatments; includes services provided by social workers, counselors, psychiatrists, neurologists and physicians, includes both mental health and substance use, encompassing a continuum of prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support services” (Behavioral Health vs. Mental Health).

Cultural Comepetence

“is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations” ("Cultural Competence").

Holistic Medicine

“is a form of medical treatment that attempts to deal with the whole person and not merely with his or her physical condition” (“Holistic Medicine”).

Mental Health

“well-being of the mind as distinct from physical well-being; the condition of a person or group in respect of the functioning of the mind; the branch of medicine that deals with this” (Behavioral Health vs. Mental Health)

Mindfulness

is “ mental state or attitude in which one focuses one's awareness on the present moment while also being conscious of, and attentive to, this awareness. Also: the cultivation and practice of this, esp. as a therapeutic technique” (“Mindfulness”).

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

is a term coined by Joy DeGruy in her book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing which “describes a set of behaviors, beliefs and actions associated with or, related to multi-generational trauma experienced by African Americans that include but are not limited to undiagnosed and untreated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in enslaved Africans and their descendants” (DeGruy, 34).

Racism

“is a system that categorizes people based on race, color, ethnicity and culture to differentially allocate societal goods and resources in a way that unfairly disadvantages some, while without merit, rewards others. As a system, racism has been institutionalized in a way that permits the establishment of patterns, procedures, practices and policies within organizations that consistently penalizes and exploits people because of their race, color, culture or ethnic origin. The system of racism affects the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of one individual towards another (personally-mediated) as well as how individuals perceive themselves (internalized)” (Institutional Racism in the Health Care System).

Serious Mental Illness

is defined as “a disorder resulting in serious emotional and behavioral functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities” (Mental Illness). 

Socioeconomic Status

“is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. Examinations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control” (Institutional Racism in the Health Care System)

Trauma

as it relates to psychoanalysis and psychiatry is “a psychic injury, esp. one caused by emotional shock the memory of which is repressed and remains unhealed; an internal injury, esp. to the brain, which may result in a behavioral disorder of organic origin. Also, the state or condition so caused” (“Trauma”). 

Wellness

“is the state or condition of being in good health, in contrast to being ill; the absence of sickness; the state of (full or temporary) recovery from illness or injury” (“Wellness”). 
“is a positive rather than contrastive quality: the state or condition of being in good physical, mental, and spiritual health, esp. as an actively pursued goal; well-being” (“Wellness”).