| P |
| Pain |
A stressful and hurtful physical and/or psychological sensation. |
| Pain assessment |
Evaluation of individual pain with pre-set criteria. |
| Pain behaviors |
Observable verbal and non-verbal expressions of pain. (Fordyce) |
| Pain control |
Achievement of optimal level of pain alleviation. |
| Pain management |
Drug and non-drug interventions to control an individual's pain. |
| Pain scale |
Set of verbal, numeric, or graphic representations used to gauge the severity of pain. |
| Pain threshold |
Level at which an individual notices pain. |
| Pain tolerance |
Level at which pain affects individual functioning. |
| Pain triggers |
Factors that modify the individual pain experience. |
| Palliation |
Intervention to relieve or ease pain. |
| Palliative |
Intending or resulting in palliation. |
| Panic attack |
The recurring "crisis phase" of a panic disorder. |
| Paradigm |
Established conceptual context for theories and explanations. |
| Parasuicide |
Non-fatal act of self-harm; a suicide gesture. |
| Parity |
Principle that mental health benefits should be comparable to those for other illnesses. |
| Partial hospitalization |
Patient spends some days/nights/weekends at a residential program while living at home. |
| Passive intervention |
Activities that do not involve a change of behavior by an at-risk individual. |
| Patient-therapist relationship |
Formal association existing when a clinician treats a client. |
| Prevention |
Action to avert onset of risk or harm in a individual, group, community, etc. |
| Partial suicide |
Non-fatal self-destructive act, e.g., self-mutilation. |
| Passive euthanasia |
Withholding/ending care that could extend life of a dying person. |
| Passive suicidal ideation |
Suicidal ideation not involving a specific suicide plan (Sivak et al.) |
| pathogenesis |
Course of origin of a disease in an individual. |
| Pathological bereavement |
Chronic, debilitating grief process. |
| Pathologize |
View a behavior or condition as a disease. |
| Patient rights |
Valid expectations of providers by those they serve. |
| Peer-led group |
Support group led or facilitated by a volunteer suicide griever. |
| Peer support |
Programs to build relationships for at-risk youth (CDC). |
| Penacide |
Killing of pain; completion of suicide to end intense pain. |
| Permission to grieve |
Seeking of recognition of loss by others by bereaved. |
| Personality-based suicidality |
Vulnerability related to individual's personality and outlook on life. |
| Perturbation |
Increased emotional disturbance in a suicidal individual (Shneidman). |
| Pharmacology |
Scientific study of the actions and effects of drugs. |
| PHS |
U.S public health service, agency of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |
| Physical loss |
Loss of something tangible (e.g., limb, pet). |
| Physician-assisted suicide |
See assisted suicide. |
| Placebo |
Inert or inactive substance given in place of a drug in a research study. |
| Plan |
See suicide plan. |
| Post-traumatic stress |
Severe emotional reaction to a traumatic event. |
| Post-vention |
Intervention after a suicide to aid the bereaved. |
| Potentiating risk factor |
Availability of lethal means, family history, stress, illness, etc. |
| Potentiator |
Factor that amplifies another factor and combined effect is greater than each alone. |
| Predisposing risk factor |
Condition when coupled with other risk may lead to suicide. |
| Pre-intervention |
See primary prevention. |
| Premorbid |
Prior to onset or presence of disease or disorder. |
| Preventability |
Griever's perception of the avoidability of their loss. |
| Primary loss |
The loss of a loved one to death by any cause. |
| Primary prevention |
Attempt to reduce occurrence of a problem in a population. |
| p.r.n. |
"Pro re nata" (as needed). |
| Processing anger |
Acknowleging anger and identifying the underlying feelings. |
| Prodromal clues |
Individual behavioral signs of suicidality. |
| Professionally-led group |
Support group led by a clinician (e.g., therapist). |
| Prognosis |
Predicted course and outcome of a disease in an individual. |
| Prolactin (prl) response |
Neurochemical process linked to suicide. |
| Protective factors |
Variables that may tend to keep an individual from completing suicide (e.g., religion). |
| Provider |
Clinician or organization offering health care services. |
| Proximal risk factor |
See potentiating risk factor. |
| Pseudocide |
Pseudo-suicide; faked suicide. |
| PSTD |
Post traumatic stress disorder; see post traumatic stress. |
| Psychache |
Severe psychological pain(Shneidman). |
| Psychiatric suicide |
Concept of suicide as always involving hate, depression, and guilt on part of victim. |
| Psychic blow |
Event threatening acceptable life circumstances that may lead to suicide (Farber). |
| Psychic homicide |
Suicide by children of abusive or hostile parents. |
| Psychic numbing |
Shut-down emotionally; traumatic grief reaction (Raphael). |
| Psychic suicide |
Willing oneself to die without any external physical action. |
| Psychobiology |
Scientific study of the biochemical basis of behavior. |
| Psychobiological model |
Suicide caused by neural dysfunction and poor impulse control. |
| Psychodynamic approach |
Considering the fantasies, wishes, fears, and conflicts of the suicidal patient (Dulit & Michels). |
| Psychodynamic model |
Suicide caused by lack of self-control due to personality pathology. |
| Psychodynamic therapy |
Examination of relationships/experiences from childhood to adulthood to resolve emotional problems. |
| Psychological abandonment |
Clinician's reluctance to deal with the family of a patient who died by suicide (Gutheil). |
| Psychological autopsy |
Post-death search for cause of suicide. |
| Psychological crisis |
Serious disruption of individual function that overcomes usual coping mechanisms. |
| Psychological death |
Individual's definition of self as dead (Kalish). |
| Psychological emergency |
Imminent risk of self-harm or danger to others without intervention. |
| Psychological pain |
Pain caused by loss, depression, and other emotional trauma. |
| Psychological post-mortem |
Post-death search for clinician treatment errors. |
| Psychological problem |
Viewing a condition as having no physiological causes. |
| Psychomotor agitation |
Restlessness, pacing, rocking, fidgeting, etc., on the part of a distressed individual. |
| Psychosocial |
Combination/integration of social and psychological factors. |
| Psychosomatic |
Physical discomfort/illness resulting from psychological stress. |
| Psychotherapy |
Face-to-face client-therapist discussions to resolve personal problems. |
| Psychotropic drug |
Medication affecting emotional functioning. |
