Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
39 results found in Mental Health.
- Music Psychotherapy
- A form of music therapy that uses musical activities — songwriting, improvisation, lyric analysis, receptive listening — to address emotional, psychological, and relational concerns rather than sensor…
- OCD Accommodation (Family Accommodation)
- A behavior — typically by family, friends, or clinicians — that participates in or enables a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to complete a compulsion, for example by providing reassura…
- OCD Cycle
- A four-step clinical model describing how Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is maintained: an obsession (intrusive thought, urge, or image) triggers a feeling of distress, which the person attempts to rel…
- Personality Test (Personality Inventory, Personality Assessment)
- A psychometric instrument that attempts to quantify traits such as conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, or risk tolerance. Personality tests were introduced in industry during and aft…
- Positive Computing (Positive Technology)
- A design approach articulated by Rafael Calvo and Dorian Peters (2014) and extended by Riva, Gaggioli and colleagues that intentionally orients information and communication technology toward supporti…
- Psychosocial Disability (Psychosocial Impairment)
- A disability that stems from diverse mental, cognitive, or emotional experiences that lead to impairment and experienced barriers in social participation. Psychosocial disabilities include conditions …
- Reassurance Robot
- A term coined by Grace Barkhuff (CHI 2026) to describe generative AI systems — such as ChatGPT — that, by default, provide reassurance, confession-hearing, and decision-making on demand, thereby accom…
- Rejection Sensitivity (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, RSD)
- An intense emotional response to perceived or actual rejection, criticism, or failure that is commonly experienced by neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with ADHD and autism. Rejection sen…
- Replika
- Replika is a commercial AI companion app, launched by Luka Inc. in 2017, that offers users a customisable digital avatar designed to 'develop its own personality' through conversational interaction. U…
- Savoring
- An emotion-regulation strategy involving the mindful noticing, appreciating, and intensifying of positive experiences — past, present, or anticipated future — to support subjective wellbeing. Savoring…
- Schizophrenia (Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders)
- A chronic psychiatric condition characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, emotion, and behavior, including symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, reduced emotio…
- Scrupulosity (Moral OCD, Religious OCD)
- A subtype of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) characterized by obsessions about having violated moral, ethical, or religious standards — for example, fear of having sinned, of having been dishonest…
- Self-Insight
- The capacity to accurately understand one's own emotions, motivations, strengths, and patterns of thought and behaviour. Self-insight is a core outcome of therapy, journaling, and reflective practice,…
- Self-Reflection (Reflective Practice)
- The deliberate process of examining one's own thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences to gain insight, adjust behaviour, or support personal growth. Self-reflection is central to therapeutic mode…
- Social Anxiety (Social Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia)
- Social anxiety (social anxiety disorder, SAD) is a mental-health condition characterised by persistent and intense fear of being judged, rejected or humiliated in social or performance situations, lea…
- Social Isolation
- A state of limited or absent social contact and interaction with others, which can result from physical, environmental, or psychological barriers. For people with disabilities and older adults, social…
- Songwriting (Therapeutic Songwriting)
- A therapeutic intervention in which a client, often collaborating with a therapist, composes original lyrics and musical elements as a way to explore emotions, reframe experiences, and build a sense o…
- Stress Management (Stress Regulation, Stress Reduction)
- The set of techniques and practices used to reduce the physiological and psychological impact of acute and chronic stress — including controlled breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness m…
- Supportive Empathy
- A therapeutic conversational stance in which a listener responds to another person's feelings with affirmation, validation, and gentle encouragement rather than problem-solving or interpretation. In m…