rehabilitation

n. the process of bringing an individual to a condition of health or useful and constructive activity, restoring to the fullest possible degree his or her independence, well-being, and level of functioning following injury, disability, or disorder. It involves providing appropriate resources, such as treatment or training, to enable such a person (e.g., one who has had a stroke) to redevelop skills and abilities he or she had acquired previously or to compensate for their loss. Compare habilitation.

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Psychology term of the day

October 5th 2024

holding environment

1. in the object relations theory of British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott (1896–1971), that aspect of the mother experienced by the infant as the environment that literally—and figuratively, by demonstrating highly focused attention and concern—holds him or her comfortingly during calm states. This is in contrast to the mother who is experienced as the object of the infant’s excited states.

2. in psychoanalysis, any therapeutic space that allows an emotionally fragile or insecure person to deal with affects that might potentially be overwhelming.