Fourth Edition, September 2011

Glossary of terms and abbreviations
Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
A permanent brain injury that results in impairment to 
an individual’s physical, cognitive (ability to think and 
reason), behavioural or emotional functioning. The 
injury may be caused by accident, infection, disease, 
overuse of alcohol, stroke, brain tumour or other med-
ical illnesses.
Acquired brain injury is not a mental illness and re-
quires very diff erent specialist skills from those off ered 
by mental health services. However, people with ac-
quired brain injury can also suff er from a mental illness.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL)
Term referring to measures of independence in ability 
to perform personal care and other basic daily tasks; 
for example: eating, washing, dressing, getting in and 
out of bed, climbing stairs, etc. The assessment of the 
extent of a person’s physical impairment or disabil-
ity is often undertaken using scales based on these 
activities.
Acute Mental Illness
Acute mental illness is characterised by signifi cant and 
distressing symptoms of a mental illness requiring 
immediate treatment. This may be the person’s fi rst 
experience of mental illness, a repeat episode or the 
worsening of symptoms of an often continuing mental 
illness. The onset is sudden or rapid, and the symptoms 
usually respond to treatment.
Acute Treatment
The intensive treatment provided to the person who is 
experiencing acute mental illness. Depending on the 
person’s needs, acute treatment can be off ered in the 
person’s own environment or by a psychiatric inpatient 
service. Depending on the severity of symptoms, the 
distress involved for the person, and the risk of harm to 
self or others, acute treatment may be provided in the 
community by a crisis outreach and support team, by 
a community mental health centre or in a psychiatric 
inpatient service.
Advocate
An advocate is someone who helps people express 
their point of view in diffi
cult situations where they 
might feel vulnerable or overwhelmed.
Aff ect
This word is used to describe observable behaviour 
that represents the expression of a subjectively ex-
perienced feeling state (emotion). Common examples 
of aff ect are sadness, fear, joy, and anger. The normal 
range of expressed aff ect varies considerably between 
diff erent cultures and even within the same culture. 
Types of aff ect include: euthymic, irritable, constricted, 
blunted, fl at, inappropriate, and labile.