Therapy words explained: A mini-glossary for clients

A friendly guide to common terms you may hear in therapy

Conversations in therapy may often sound different to everyday conversations. This is because, sometimes, in therapy, we need precise words to demarcate different experiences, events, or states of mind. This glossary helps clarify some of the most common terms you might encounter during your therapy journey.

Trigger

A trigger is a stimulus, such as a sound, situation, memory, smell, or even a tone of voice, which brings up an intense emotional reaction. Triggers often relate to difficult past experiences, especially times when you felt unsafe or overwhelmed.

Boundaries

Boundaries are the limits you set to protect your emotional, physical or mental wellbeing. They communicate what you’re comfortable with and what you’re not. Boundaries are particularly important in therapy. Your therapist might also discuss with your what their own professional boundaries are and how you can create a safe and boundaried therapeutic space together.

Coping Skills

These are the strategies that help you manage stress or difficult emotions. They can be emotional (journaling), physical (breathing exercises), behavioral (going for a walk), or relational (talking to someone supportive). Therapy often includes developing healthy, sustainable coping skills.

Regulation / Dysregulation

This refers to your ability (or difficulty) with restoring emotional balance and soothing yourself.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and without judgment. It helps you notice your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without getting swept away by them.

Trauma

Trauma is not defined only by the event itself, but by how overwhelmed and unsafe your nervous system felt during or after the experience. It can come from sudden events (accidents, loss), long-term stress (neglect, criticism), relational wounds (betrayal, emotional absence) or instances of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.

Dissociation

Dissociation is a disconnection from thoughts, feelings, memories, the present moment, or your sense of identity. It can feel like zoning out, feeling far away or foggy, observing yourself from far away, time moving strangely or losing time. Dissociation is a protective response the nervous system uses during overwhelm.

Rumination

Rumination means getting stuck in repetitive, looping thoughts, which are often focused on fear, regret, or “what if” scenarios.

Resilience

Resilience is your capacity to adapt, recover, and grow from challenges. It means being flexible, connected, and supported enough to move through difficulty in your own way.

Attachment Style

Your typical pattern for forming emotional bonds with others, shaped mainly by your early relationships. The four main attachment styles are secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganised. Understanding your attachment style helps you make sense of patterns in trust, closeness, and communication.

Insight

A deeper understanding of why you think, feel, or act in certain ways.

Parts

This term comes from a therapy called Internal Family Systems. Parts are the different inner aspects of the self, each with its own needs or roles. The parts have different functions and they be trying to protect or help you cope in some way. Therapy helps these parts feel heard, understood, and balanced by your core Self.

Grounding

Grounding tools help bring you back to the present moment when you feel overwhelmed, anxious, dissociated, or stuck in intense emotion.

Validation

Validation means acknowledging that someone’s feelings are real and understandable, even if you don’t agree with their perspective.