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Glite Dictionary
psychological medicine

psychological medicine

4.4
A part of health care that finds and treats mental health problems
  • noun
  • /ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkəl ˈmɛdɪsɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : medicina psicológica
  • The field of psychological medicine focuses on understanding and treating mental disorders.

Examples

  • Many patients benefit greatly from psychological medicine when addressing their mental health issues.

  • I do know a little bit about psychological medicine, yes.

    Clue (1985)

  • The doctor suggested that I consider psychological medicine for my anxiety treatment.

Synonyms

psychiatry
vspsychological medicine
  • Specialized
71 4.2

The part of medicine that helps people with mental health problems

omits prevention as a focus

Antonyms

physiatrics
  • Specialized
9.9

Medical treatment using exercise and massage to help people get better after illness or injury

Surface Forms

psychological medicine singular
psychological medicines plural

Morphology

psychological + medicine

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'psychological' (relating to psychology/mental health) modifies 'medicine' (the medical field), so the combined meaning — medical practice concerning mental disorders — is directly derivable from the parts. This follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (e.g. equivalents in Romance and Germanic languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.

Etymology

Psychological medicine joins psychological, meaning 'the mind', and medicine, meaning 'medical care'. That's why it means helping to 'diagnose' and 'treat' problems of thinking and feeling.