Part of the Shrink Network
The language of the mind. Understood.
Shrinktionary explains mental health terms in plain English. Symptoms, diagnoses, medications, therapy concepts, and the words people hear without ever getting a clear definition.
Mental health language shouldn't be confusing.
People hear panic attack, rumination, SSRI, bipolar disorder, intrusive thought, dissociation, executive function in clinics, in articles, and in their own heads. Most never get the actual definition. Shrinktionary fixes that. Each term gets a plain English explanation, the clinical context behind it, what it isn't, and the related concepts you'd want to know next.
This is education. It isn't medical advice. It doesn't replace a clinician. It exists so the words make sense the next time you encounter them.
Explore by category
Symptoms
3 termsWhat people feel, notice, or experience that brings them to care.
Conditions
2 termsDiagnoses, syndromes, and recognized clinical conditions.
Medications
1 termDrug classes and specific medications used in psychiatric care.
Therapy Terms
1 termThe language of psychotherapy, techniques, and modalities.
Psychiatry Terms
0 termsClinical terms used in psychiatric practice.
Psychology Terms
1 termConcepts from psychological science.
Brain and Body Terms
1 termNeuroscience, physiology, and the body's role in mental health.
Everyday Language
1 termWords people use casually that have specific clinical meanings.
Research Terms
0 termsWords you'll see in psychiatric research and evidence reviews.
The Term Web
Words don't exist alone. A symptom connects to a diagnosis. A diagnosis connects to a treatment. A treatment connects to medications. Medications connect to the questions you'd ask a prescriber. The Term Web shows how the language of mental health is wired together, so you can walk the connections instead of looking up one word at a time.
Not sure what word you're looking for?
I heard a diagnosis
Find the clinical condition by name.
I heard a medication name
Find what a drug is and what it treats.
I'm trying to describe a symptom
Start from what you feel, not what it's called.
I'm reading a therapy term
Decode what a clinician or workbook is saying.
I want the broader explanation
Go to Shrinkopedia for the full encyclopedia entry.
I need care
Start with shrinkMD.
Where Shrinktionary fits in The Shrink Network
Shrinktionary explains the words. Shrinkopedia explains the concepts. AnxietyResource and DepressionResource explain specific conditions. PsychiatryRx explains medications. AnxietyResearch translates the evidence. shrinQ helps you see patterns in how you think. shrinkMD is where clinical care happens. Each property has its own role, and the links between them are intentional.