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GLOSSARY




There are many people offering services of all different types. It can be confusing. Following is a glossary of common terms to help you better understand what's available and what's best for you.

Aromatherapy: inhalation or bodily application (as by massage) of fragrant essential oils (as from flowers and fruits) for therapeutic purposes. The use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils for healing and cosmetic purposes. There is a lack of good medical evidence that aromatherapy can prevent or cure any disease, but it has been demonstrated to improve mood. For cancer patients, aromatherapy has been found to lower anxiety and depression symptoms.[21] 

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert people to dangers and help them prepare and pay attention.

Anxiety Disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness and involve excessive fear or anxiety. Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect more than 25 million Americans. Anxiety disorders are treatable and a number of effective treatments are available. Treatment helps most people lead normal productive lives.

Biofeedback: A process whereby electronic monitoring of a normally automatic bodily function is used to train someone to acquire voluntary control of that function.

Coaching: is a form of development in which a person called a coach supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a coachee. Occasionally, coaching may mean an informal relationship between two people, of whom one has more experience and expertise than the other and offers advice and guidance as the latter learns; but coaching differs from mentoring in focusing on specific tasks or objectives, as opposed to more general goals or overall development

Counseling: the provision of assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties, especially by a professional

Counselor: a person trained to give guidance on personal, social, or psychological problems
A human services professional who deals with human development concerns through support, therapeutic approaches, consultation, evaluation, teaching, and research

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how one feels, thinks, and acts. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.

Holistic: Comes from the idea that systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not just as a collection of parts. Characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease.

Hypnosis: a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject. Hypnosis allows the subconscious mind to learn new or healthier patterns by bypassing the critical factor and allowing into the subconscious mind a new set of beliefs, behaviors and options. 

Life Coach: a person who counsels and encourages clients on matters having to do with careers or personal challenges. An advisor who helps people make decisions, set and reach goals, or deal with problems. A person who counsels or motivates others in the achievement of personal objectives such as choosing or changing careers, improving relationships, setting goals and determining priorities

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

Mental Illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental illness is common.

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.

Psychiatrist: a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.

Psychologist: studies normal and abnormal mental states, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how individuals relate to one another and to their environments. To become a psychologist, a person often completes a graduate university degree in psychology, but in most jurisdictions, members of other behavioral professions (such as counselors and psychiatrists) can also evaluate, diagnose, treat, and study mental processes


Psychotherapy: or talk therapy, is a way to help people with a broad variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties. Psychotherapy can help eliminate or control troubling symptoms so a person can function better and can increase well-being and healing.
Problems helped by psychotherapy include difficulties in coping with daily life; the impact of trauma, medical illness or loss, like the death of a loved one; and specific mental disorders, like depression or anxiety.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), previously called rational therapy and rational emotive therapy, is an active-directive, philosophically and empirically based psychotherapy, the aim of which is to resolve emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and to help people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.


Relaxation Training is any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a person to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness; or otherwise reduce levels of pain, anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation techniques are often employed as one element of a wider stress management program and can decrease muscle tension, lower the blood pressure and slow heart and breath rates, among other health benefits.


Stress is a reaction the body experiences as a result of a demanding circumstance or event that requires immediate action and attention. Specifically, this reaction causes the nervous system to produce hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) and results in quickened breathing, a faster heartbeat, tightening muscles and even a sudden burst of energy. Chronic stress can wreak havoc on the body’s immune system and contribute to health problems such as tension headaches, migraine headaches, insomnia, weight gain, depression, anxiety, digestive problems, and even heart disease. Both acute and chronic stress impact memory and concentration.

Stress Management
is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of improving everyday functioning.

Therapy: treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder

Therapist: a person skilled in a particular kind of therapy

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), also known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation in which a changing magnetic field is used to cause electric current at a specific area of the brain through electromagnetic induction. An electric pulse generator, or stimulator, is connected to a magnetic coil, which in turn is connected to the scalp. The stimulator generates a changing electric current within the coil which induces a magnetic field; this field then causes a second inductance of inverted electric charge within the brain itself.[1]:3[2]
TMS has shown diagnostic and therapeutic potential in the central nervous system with a wide variety of disease states in neurology and mental health, with research still evolving.[3][4][5][6]



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Joanne Johnson is an independent contractor who provides services to agencies, groups and individuals seeking consultation. Specialties include Stress Management, Relocation Stress, Life Coaching, Aromatherapy, and Relaxation Training. Joanne is available to conduct groups, workshops, and provide coaching.

Why Consult Joanne

I'm qualified.    I'm a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP), with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. I was a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the state of Illinois from 2001 to 2009. I have been a  National Certified Counselor (NCC) since 2008. I have several years of experience counseling a variety of people in various settings including mental health clinics, hospitals, schools, health clinics, private offices, by telephone, and online. I am a certified Stress Management Specialist, and have received training as a life coach. To maintain my certification I receive ongoing education on relevant topics. I aim to do no harm. I promote natural, noninvasive methods. I'm an advocate of safe, natural, scientific,  effective treatments. Psychotropic medications have side effects, and there are safe, natural alternatives that are just as effective if not more so. Talk therapy, relaxation training, meditation, fresh air, and exercise have all been

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