treatment
Psychiatric Terminology
Medical or psychiatric jargon, the lingo that doctors use in their writing and when they communicate with one another, may be helpful to them. It certainly isn’t to patients and their families.
Most physicians make an effort to ensure that their patients understand everything they say, but some doctors don’t always do this. Those who don’t can be trained.
Clear communication is effective communication. It is particularly important in the mental health field, where patients may experience difficulties that some other patients don’t.
Individuals who are struggling with a mental illness, including schizophrenia, often experience compromised attention, concentration or memory. People with schizophrenia may also be distracted by disturbing disorganized thoughts, delusions or hallucinations. If they can’t easily understand all the words their doctor uses, it will be difficult to gain an adequate understanding of their illness and follow directions, even if they seem to be simple and straightforward to the doctor.
What You Can Do About This
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1.Ask your doctor to explain things until you are absolutely certain you understand everything completely. This may seem to frustrate your doctor at first, but be patient; your doctor will come around. After you ask them to explain the same thing 2 or 3 times, they will realize that it makes sense to speak plainly in the first place. Even stubborn doctors don’t want to waste time.
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2.Bring someone along to your appointment who may understand things that you don’t. They can also help you to remember what was said during the visit and explain it more thoroughly later, when you have more time and are relaxed.
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These assistants might include family members, friends, or a social worker. Those individuals might even take notes for you so that you have a permanent record of what transpired during your visit. In addition, they may serve to” take some of the heat off you” by also asking the doctor to explain things in simple terms.
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3.Write down any confusing terms so that you can look for them later in the glossary at this website. If you can’t find them there, submit them along with other questions on the “Ask the Doctor Page”. You will receive a response to your questions and a comfortable definition of the term. Any new terms will be added to the glossary.
The author of this site will attempt to avoid confusing medical or psychiatric terminology at all costs, but some words may be technical terms that are a necessary part of the information presented. In those cases, the terms will be defined so that they can be easily understood by the use of substitute words within the text or will appear in the glossary of terms.
Information about schizophrenia from sources outside of this site may contain foreign and mysterious terms. Submit them to this site for a more user friendly translation.
(Sources: The author’s knowledge base, unless otherwise noted.)
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