catharsis

catharsis /ca·thar·sis/ (kah-thahr´sis)

1. purgation; a cleansing or emptying.

2. in psychiatry, the expression and discharge of repressed emotions and ideas.

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ca·thar·sis (k-thärss)

n. pl. ca·thar·ses (-sz)

1. Purgation.

2. A psychological technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.

3. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

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Catharsis

Therapeutic discharge of emotional tension by recalling past events.

Mentioned in: Art Therapy

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catharsis

[kəthär′sis]

1 a cleansing or purging.

2 the therapeutic release of pent-up feelings and emotions by open discussion of ideas and thoughts.

3 the process of drawing repressed ideas and feelings into the consciousness by the technique of free association, often in conjunction with hypnosis and the use of hypnotic drugs. Also called psychocatharsis. See also abreaction. cathartic, n.

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catharsis [kah-thahr´sis]

1. a cleansing of the bowels; called also evacuation and purgation.

2. the bringing into consciousness and the emotional reliving of a forgotten (repressed) painful experience as a means of releasing anxiety and tension.

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catharsis (k·thärˑ·sis),

n 1. in medicine, purgation, especially of the digestive system.
2. a method by which tension and anxiety are relieved by bringing fears and repressed feelings to consciousness, which is often a critical phase of the healing process. See also abreaction.

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catharsis

a cleansing or purgation.

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catharsis

Cathartic method Psychiatry Any psychoanalytic technique in which the client is led to recognize the underlying basis for underlying mental issues, and release associated suppressed or forgotten emotions by talking them out; catharsis is integral to primal therapy and Reichian therapy. See Primal therapy, Psychoanalysis, Reichian therapy, Repression.