Fourth Edition, September 2011

Severe Personality Disorder
A term frequently used to describe a serious form of 
personality disorder. See also: borderline personality 
disorder.
Social Workers
Social workers are health professionals who have a 
qualifi cation in social work and may have specialised in 
mental health. They form part of the multidisciplinary 
team and typical functions include: counselling, advo-
cacy, family work, and social and community develop-
ment. Social workers in Ontario must be registered 
with their Provincial College.
Stereotyped movements
Repetitive, seemingly driven, and nonfunctional motor 
behaviour (e.g. hand shaking or waving, body rocking, 
head banging, mouthing of objects, self-biting, pick-
ing at skin or body orifi ces, hitting one’s own body).
Substance Related Disorders
Changes to a person’s physical health and behaviour 
associated with the overuse of alcohol or drugs. For ex-
ample, there may be an inability to perform their job 
or household duties, problems in personal and social 
relationships, and faulty memory. There may also be 
frequent legal problems, such as drunk driving or dis-
orderly conduct.
Substance related disorder is not a mental illness and 
requires very diff erent specialist skills from those of-
fered by mental health services. However, people with 
a substance related disorder often also suff er from a 
mental illness, and others with longstanding substance 
abuse can develop symptoms of a mental illness.
Suicidal
A person is regarded as suicidal when they have given 
strong indications or have intentions of taking their 
own life.

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Making a Diff erence: An Educators’ Guide to Child and Youth Mental Health Problems
www.cymhin.ca
3 . 1 2
Glossary of terms and abbreviations
Symptom
Changes in a person’s mind or body that indicate they 
may be suff ering from a particular illness. Symptoms 
are reported by the aff ected individual rather than ob-
served by the examiner.
Syndrome
A grouping of signs and symptoms, based on their 
frequent co-occurrence, that may suggest a common 
underlying pathogenesis, course, familial pattern, or 
treatment selection.