Behavioral Health Glossary

A standardized nine-item screening tool used to assess depression severity in clinical and research settings.

A symptom representing an excess or distortion of normal function—such as hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized spe...

A payer-required approval process that must be completed before a behavioral health service is rendered in order for rei...

Early warning signs or symptoms that appear before the full onset of a mental health episode or psychiatric condition, p...

Legal document allowing individuals to specify preferences for mental health treatment during future crisis periods.

A systematic approach to helping individuals with serious mental illness develop the skills and supports needed to funct...

A structured, evidence-based intervention providing patients and their families with information about a mental health o...

A structured therapeutic group format in which participants receive education about a specific mental health condition,...

Medical specialty focused on the use of psychiatric medications for treating mental health disorders, requiring speciali...

A clinical state characterized by a break from reality, typically involving hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thin...

Evidence-based services helping individuals with mental illness develop skills and supports for community living and mea...

Any pharmaceutical agent that acts on the central nervous system to alter mood, perception, cognition, or behavior, used...

Regional behavioral health authority that contracts with states to manage publicly funded mental health and substance ab...

The sum of resources available to an individual that support addiction recovery and sustained sobriety.

A structured, individualized document identifying triggers, warning signs, and coping strategies designed to help a pers...

Systematic evaluation of a client's potential for self-harm, violence, or other dangerous behaviors.

A brief, structured clinical document co-created with a patient at elevated risk of suicide or self-harm, outlining pers...

Federal agency that leads public health efforts to advance behavioral health and reduce substance abuse nationwide.

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment approach for identifying and addressing substance use problems.

A psychiatric condition characterized by symptoms of both schizophrenia and major mood disorders, requiring specific dia...

Emergency interventions involving physical or environmental restriction of patient movement, subject to strict regulator...

A self-help program for addiction recovery that uses cognitive-behavioral and motivational techniques rather than spirit...

Clinical designation for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness requiring ongoing treatment and support s...

Single Point of Access system for streamlined entry into behavioral health services within a geographic area.