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Old and new in psychiatric semiology
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Publisher: Editura Universitară
Author: Simona Trifu coord., Beatrice Popescu coord.
Edition: I
Pages: 216
Publisher year: 2026
ISBN: 978-606-28-2176-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5682/9786062821760
Product Code:
9786062821760
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Psychiatric semiology is the foundation of any authentic clinical approach in the field of mental health. It is not just an enumeration of terms or a taxonomy of symptoms, but a rigorous language through which the subjective experience of the patient can be observed, understood, described and communicated, with accuracy, between specialists. The present volume is part of this essential tradition of descriptive and phenomenological psychiatry, bringing to the fore concepts that, although sometimes considered rare, archaic or insufficiently valued in contemporary expressions, remain of major clinical importance.
The texts brought together in this work illustrate the complexity of psychic life and the diversity of ways in which mental suffering is expressed. From subtle memory phenomena, such as anecphoria or cryptomnesia, to profound affective experiences, such as painful psychic anesthesia or psychotic anxiety, from psychomotor syndromes such as catatonia, to chronic dispositional manifestations or temperamental-affective instabilities, each concept described contributes to the outline of a nuanced map of psychopathology. This mapping is indispensable for any clinician who wishes to overcome reductive approaches and approach the patient's psychic reality with discernment.
For young specialists – psychiatry residents, clinical psychologists or psychotherapists just starting out – the correct understanding of each semiological concept is not a purely theoretical exercise, but a condition for responsible practice. The imprecise use of terms, confusion between related phenomena or the mechanical application of diagnostic labels can lead to errors of assessment, inadequate interventions and, ultimately, a rupture of the therapeutic alliance. In contrast, mastering the semiological language allows the formulation of fine clinical observations, facilitates differential diagnosis and supports therapeutic decisions adapted to each individual case. Another essential merit of this volume lies in the promotion of a common language of communication between specialists. Psychiatry and clinical psychology are deeply interdisciplinary fields, in which collaboration between psychiatrists, family doctors or doctors of other specialties, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and other professionals is vital. Without a shared terminological basis, professional dialogue risks becoming fragmented or ambiguous. Through conceptual rigor and constant reference to the specialized literature, the concepts included and analyzed here contribute to the consolidation of this common language, indispensable in clinical practice, but also in academic research and training.
At the same time, the volume offers a bridge between the tradition of classical psychopathology and contemporary approaches, integrating phenomenological, psychodynamic, cognitive and neurobiological perspectives. This theoretical plurality reflects the current clinical reality, in which no single explanatory framework is sufficient to capture the full complexity of mental suffering. Therefore, the reader is invited not to memorize definitions, but to develop flexible, critical and empathetic clinical thinking.
This mini dictionary book is intended to be more than an academic exercise. It is an invitation to observational finesse, to respect the subjective experience of the patient and to professional responsibility. The correct understanding and rigorous use of psychiatric semiology represent an essential step towards a mature clinical practice, in which diagnosis is not a hasty label, but the result of an authentic encounter between science, language and humanity.
In continuation of these considerations, it should be emphasized that the selection of concepts addressed in this volume is not a random, nor arbitrary one, and even less dictated by a simple theoretical interest. On the contrary, they were chosen precisely because they are among the most difficult to understand, recognize and use correctly by the young generation of specialists, located at the intersection between the tradition of classical psychopathology and the contemporary language of diagnostic manuals. Many of these concepts belong to a profound psychiatric semiology, built in an era in which clinical observation, phenomenological description and finesse of language played a central role. Today, they risk being abandoned or being used improperly, not because they have lost their clinical relevance, but because there is no longer a unitary terminological framework that can translate the old psychopathology into current language. The absence of a coherent dictionary that would match classical and modern terminology creates a conceptual vacuum, in which extremely valuable notions become difficult to access or are reduced to mere historical curiosities.
For young psychiatric residents and clinical psychologists, this situation creates an additional difficulty: they are trained in a system that privileges classification, operational criteria and diagnostic labels, but which offers less space for the nuanced understanding of subjective experience. Concepts such as anecphoria, confabulation, pseudo-hallucination, painful psychic anesthesia or magical thinking are not explicitly found in modern guidelines or are mentioned marginally, without sufficient phenomenological explanations. In the absence of a conceptual “translation”, the young clinician may end up either ignoring them or confusing them with related phenomena, thus losing essential clinical information.
Precisely for this reason, this volume assumes an additional formative role: that of mediator between generations of psychiatric language. By carefully analyzing these concepts and by contextualizing them clinically and theoretically, the work provides a framework in which the old terminology can be understood, reinterpreted and used in dialogue with the current language. It is not about an opposition between “old” and “new”, but about a necessary continuity, without which clinical practice risks becoming poor in meanings and rigid in interpretations.
In this sense, the difficulty of these concepts should not be perceived as an obstacle, but as an intellectual and professional challenge. They require an effort of thinking, reflection and refinement of clinical observation, but offer, in return, a much deeper understanding of mental suffering. For the younger generation, familiarization with these notions represents an essential step in the formation of mature clinical thinking, capable of going beyond the simple application of diagnostic criteria and getting authentically close to the patient.
Thus, the choice of these themes reflects not only their theoretical complexity, but also the urgent need to recover and integrate them into current practice, in a language that allows equivalent communication between specialists. In the absence of this effort, the risk is that psychiatry and clinical psychology will lose precisely those conceptual tools that allow them to capture the subtlety, ambiguity and depth of human experience. This volume is therefore intended to be a clarification, bridging and continuity approach, designed to support young specialists in navigating a complex clinical territory, but essential for a responsible and humane practice. In this context, the importance of the role of the coordinator in the process of training and transmission of psychopathological knowledge becomes all the more evident. Nowadays, the coordination of a volume of psychiatric semiology can no longer be conceived as a unilateral act of academic authority, but as a process of intellectual mediation, in which the coordinator has the responsibility to actively involve young clinicians in the act of thinking, conceptualizing and writing. This involvement does not represent only a pedagogical strategy, but an epistemological necessity, without which clinical language risks remaining disconnected from the reality of the generations in training.
The coordinator's mind fulfills, in this sense, an essential function of organizing, filtering and conceptual translation. It must be sufficiently anchored in the tradition of classical psychopathology to recognize the value of the fundamental concepts, but also open enough to understand how they are perceived, reinterpreted or even rejected by young clinicians. The coordinator is not only a guarantor of scientific rigor, but an architect of dialogue between generations, capable of creating an intellectual space in which the old and the new meet without canceling each other out.
The active involvement of young clinicians in the development of such a volume has a dual role. On the one hand, it favors the deep internalization of concepts, because the young specialist is no longer a simple receiver of knowledge, but becomes its co-author. The writing process forces clarification, nuance, and the assumption of precise language, transforming passive learning into a reflective experience. On the other hand, this involvement allows the coordinator to identify areas of conceptual opacity, terminological confusion, and the real needs for clarification of the new generation, thus adjusting the theoretical discourse to the current level of understanding.
The function of the coordinator's mind is, in this context, one of fine-tuning. He must know when to intervene to correct a conceptual deviation and when to allow the exploration, even risky, of a difficult concept. This ability to maintain the balance between rigor and intellectual freedom defines the authentic coordinator, who does not impose dogmas, but shapes clinical thinking through example, dialogue and reasoned exigency.
Furthermore, the coordinator has the role of ensuring the coherence of language in a context in which the plurality of voices can easily lead to fragmentation. His mind must function as a conceptual center of gravity, capable of harmonizing different perspectives and integrating them into a unitary discourse. This function is all the more important in a field such as psychiatric semiology, where terminological imprecision can have direct consequences on the clinical act.
Finally, the involvement of young clinicians in writing also represents a form of responsible transmission of the professional legacy. The coordinator thus becomes not just an editor or a supervisor, but a mentor of clinical thinking, who assumes the formation of a generation capable of continuing, nuanced and developing the psychopathological language. The coordinator's mind is not just a repository of knowledge, but a living space of reflection, capable of inspiring, structuring and giving meaning to a collective approach, oriented towards a deep understanding of mental suffering and towards authentic communication between specialists.
The texts brought together in this work illustrate the complexity of psychic life and the diversity of ways in which mental suffering is expressed. From subtle memory phenomena, such as anecphoria or cryptomnesia, to profound affective experiences, such as painful psychic anesthesia or psychotic anxiety, from psychomotor syndromes such as catatonia, to chronic dispositional manifestations or temperamental-affective instabilities, each concept described contributes to the outline of a nuanced map of psychopathology. This mapping is indispensable for any clinician who wishes to overcome reductive approaches and approach the patient's psychic reality with discernment.
For young specialists – psychiatry residents, clinical psychologists or psychotherapists just starting out – the correct understanding of each semiological concept is not a purely theoretical exercise, but a condition for responsible practice. The imprecise use of terms, confusion between related phenomena or the mechanical application of diagnostic labels can lead to errors of assessment, inadequate interventions and, ultimately, a rupture of the therapeutic alliance. In contrast, mastering the semiological language allows the formulation of fine clinical observations, facilitates differential diagnosis and supports therapeutic decisions adapted to each individual case. Another essential merit of this volume lies in the promotion of a common language of communication between specialists. Psychiatry and clinical psychology are deeply interdisciplinary fields, in which collaboration between psychiatrists, family doctors or doctors of other specialties, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and other professionals is vital. Without a shared terminological basis, professional dialogue risks becoming fragmented or ambiguous. Through conceptual rigor and constant reference to the specialized literature, the concepts included and analyzed here contribute to the consolidation of this common language, indispensable in clinical practice, but also in academic research and training.
At the same time, the volume offers a bridge between the tradition of classical psychopathology and contemporary approaches, integrating phenomenological, psychodynamic, cognitive and neurobiological perspectives. This theoretical plurality reflects the current clinical reality, in which no single explanatory framework is sufficient to capture the full complexity of mental suffering. Therefore, the reader is invited not to memorize definitions, but to develop flexible, critical and empathetic clinical thinking.
This mini dictionary book is intended to be more than an academic exercise. It is an invitation to observational finesse, to respect the subjective experience of the patient and to professional responsibility. The correct understanding and rigorous use of psychiatric semiology represent an essential step towards a mature clinical practice, in which diagnosis is not a hasty label, but the result of an authentic encounter between science, language and humanity.
In continuation of these considerations, it should be emphasized that the selection of concepts addressed in this volume is not a random, nor arbitrary one, and even less dictated by a simple theoretical interest. On the contrary, they were chosen precisely because they are among the most difficult to understand, recognize and use correctly by the young generation of specialists, located at the intersection between the tradition of classical psychopathology and the contemporary language of diagnostic manuals. Many of these concepts belong to a profound psychiatric semiology, built in an era in which clinical observation, phenomenological description and finesse of language played a central role. Today, they risk being abandoned or being used improperly, not because they have lost their clinical relevance, but because there is no longer a unitary terminological framework that can translate the old psychopathology into current language. The absence of a coherent dictionary that would match classical and modern terminology creates a conceptual vacuum, in which extremely valuable notions become difficult to access or are reduced to mere historical curiosities.
For young psychiatric residents and clinical psychologists, this situation creates an additional difficulty: they are trained in a system that privileges classification, operational criteria and diagnostic labels, but which offers less space for the nuanced understanding of subjective experience. Concepts such as anecphoria, confabulation, pseudo-hallucination, painful psychic anesthesia or magical thinking are not explicitly found in modern guidelines or are mentioned marginally, without sufficient phenomenological explanations. In the absence of a conceptual “translation”, the young clinician may end up either ignoring them or confusing them with related phenomena, thus losing essential clinical information.
Precisely for this reason, this volume assumes an additional formative role: that of mediator between generations of psychiatric language. By carefully analyzing these concepts and by contextualizing them clinically and theoretically, the work provides a framework in which the old terminology can be understood, reinterpreted and used in dialogue with the current language. It is not about an opposition between “old” and “new”, but about a necessary continuity, without which clinical practice risks becoming poor in meanings and rigid in interpretations.
In this sense, the difficulty of these concepts should not be perceived as an obstacle, but as an intellectual and professional challenge. They require an effort of thinking, reflection and refinement of clinical observation, but offer, in return, a much deeper understanding of mental suffering. For the younger generation, familiarization with these notions represents an essential step in the formation of mature clinical thinking, capable of going beyond the simple application of diagnostic criteria and getting authentically close to the patient.
Thus, the choice of these themes reflects not only their theoretical complexity, but also the urgent need to recover and integrate them into current practice, in a language that allows equivalent communication between specialists. In the absence of this effort, the risk is that psychiatry and clinical psychology will lose precisely those conceptual tools that allow them to capture the subtlety, ambiguity and depth of human experience. This volume is therefore intended to be a clarification, bridging and continuity approach, designed to support young specialists in navigating a complex clinical territory, but essential for a responsible and humane practice. In this context, the importance of the role of the coordinator in the process of training and transmission of psychopathological knowledge becomes all the more evident. Nowadays, the coordination of a volume of psychiatric semiology can no longer be conceived as a unilateral act of academic authority, but as a process of intellectual mediation, in which the coordinator has the responsibility to actively involve young clinicians in the act of thinking, conceptualizing and writing. This involvement does not represent only a pedagogical strategy, but an epistemological necessity, without which clinical language risks remaining disconnected from the reality of the generations in training.
The coordinator's mind fulfills, in this sense, an essential function of organizing, filtering and conceptual translation. It must be sufficiently anchored in the tradition of classical psychopathology to recognize the value of the fundamental concepts, but also open enough to understand how they are perceived, reinterpreted or even rejected by young clinicians. The coordinator is not only a guarantor of scientific rigor, but an architect of dialogue between generations, capable of creating an intellectual space in which the old and the new meet without canceling each other out.
The active involvement of young clinicians in the development of such a volume has a dual role. On the one hand, it favors the deep internalization of concepts, because the young specialist is no longer a simple receiver of knowledge, but becomes its co-author. The writing process forces clarification, nuance, and the assumption of precise language, transforming passive learning into a reflective experience. On the other hand, this involvement allows the coordinator to identify areas of conceptual opacity, terminological confusion, and the real needs for clarification of the new generation, thus adjusting the theoretical discourse to the current level of understanding.
The function of the coordinator's mind is, in this context, one of fine-tuning. He must know when to intervene to correct a conceptual deviation and when to allow the exploration, even risky, of a difficult concept. This ability to maintain the balance between rigor and intellectual freedom defines the authentic coordinator, who does not impose dogmas, but shapes clinical thinking through example, dialogue and reasoned exigency.
Furthermore, the coordinator has the role of ensuring the coherence of language in a context in which the plurality of voices can easily lead to fragmentation. His mind must function as a conceptual center of gravity, capable of harmonizing different perspectives and integrating them into a unitary discourse. This function is all the more important in a field such as psychiatric semiology, where terminological imprecision can have direct consequences on the clinical act.
Finally, the involvement of young clinicians in writing also represents a form of responsible transmission of the professional legacy. The coordinator thus becomes not just an editor or a supervisor, but a mentor of clinical thinking, who assumes the formation of a generation capable of continuing, nuanced and developing the psychopathological language. The coordinator's mind is not just a repository of knowledge, but a living space of reflection, capable of inspiring, structuring and giving meaning to a collective approach, oriented towards a deep understanding of mental suffering and towards authentic communication between specialists.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Simona Trifu
Department of Neurosciences, UMF "Carol Davila" Bucharest
Department of Neurosciences, UMF "Carol Davila" Bucharest
Foreword/9
Trifu Simona
Anecphoria/15
Bárbuică Teodor Marius
Painful Psychic Anesthesia /18
Scrieciu Antonia Francesca
Psychotic Anxiety /20
Rotărescu Ana Elena
Alcoholic Blackout /24
Chiciorea Diana
Catatony /29
Vasilache Ana Maria
Cyclothymia/31
Popescu Beatrice Alina
Compulsion/37
Radu Alexia Ana
Confabulation/42
Roman Daria Ioana
Countertransference /48
Cimpoca Diana Elena
Cryptomnesia/51
Mocanu Ștefania Bianca
Dysphoria/56
Culcea Mihnea Alexander
Dysthymia/59
Sava Alin Marius
Ecmnezia /63
Matei Valentina
Erotomania/68
Mihalachi Bianca
Foreclosure /72
Enculeasa Andreea
Magical thinking/76
Mogîldea Adelina
Interoceptive hallucinations /80
Robu Teodora
Functional hallucinations /84
Stîrcu Adina Ana Maria
Hyperbulia /86
Constantin Denisa Cristina
Cosmogonic delusion /88
Nedelea Rucsandra Mihaela Renata
Relationship delusions /92
Moscu Andreea
Ilogism/96
Cimpoieru Ana Maria
Illusion of doubles /99
Nedea Ioana Teodora
Affective incontinence /101
Delusional interpretativity /104
Popovici Bianca Diana
Sensory interpretativity/ delusional /106
Tălmaciu Rebeca
Affective inversion /109
Radu Rareș Bogdan
Narcissism/112
Anton Irina Ruxandra
Reduplicative paramnesia (PICK) /119
Crăciun Andreea
Prosopagnosia/123
Sofraniu Andrei
Petru Raluca
Pseudohallucination /129
Todiriță Andreea Denisa
Suicidal urge /135
Grigore Florina Ana Maria
Acute reaction to a stressor /137
Cristescu Alessia
Repression/ Repression /140
Hotca Daria Ioana
Phantom pregnancy /142
Ailenei Anda Oana
Simple schizophrenia /148
Chiriță Ioana Emilia
Sensitivity/ Suspiciousness /151
Matei Alexia Iulia
Mental automatism syndrome /153
Todiriță Andreea Denisa
Burnout Syndrome /158
Raicu Elena Nicoleta
Korsakoff Syndrome /163
Chiciorea Diana
Synesthesia/168
Oniceag Ruxandra Gabriela
Twilight state /171
Pîrvu Constantin Maria
Ego dissolution experiences /176
Bărăscu Miruna
Antisocial traits /179
Matei Ingrid Elena
Adjustment disorder /181
Crăciun Alexia Gabriela
Xenopathy/185
Niță Rareș Mihai
References/187
Trifu Simona
Anecphoria/15
Bárbuică Teodor Marius
Painful Psychic Anesthesia /18
Scrieciu Antonia Francesca
Psychotic Anxiety /20
Rotărescu Ana Elena
Alcoholic Blackout /24
Chiciorea Diana
Catatony /29
Vasilache Ana Maria
Cyclothymia/31
Popescu Beatrice Alina
Compulsion/37
Radu Alexia Ana
Confabulation/42
Roman Daria Ioana
Countertransference /48
Cimpoca Diana Elena
Cryptomnesia/51
Mocanu Ștefania Bianca
Dysphoria/56
Culcea Mihnea Alexander
Dysthymia/59
Sava Alin Marius
Ecmnezia /63
Matei Valentina
Erotomania/68
Mihalachi Bianca
Foreclosure /72
Enculeasa Andreea
Magical thinking/76
Mogîldea Adelina
Interoceptive hallucinations /80
Robu Teodora
Functional hallucinations /84
Stîrcu Adina Ana Maria
Hyperbulia /86
Constantin Denisa Cristina
Cosmogonic delusion /88
Nedelea Rucsandra Mihaela Renata
Relationship delusions /92
Moscu Andreea
Ilogism/96
Cimpoieru Ana Maria
Illusion of doubles /99
Nedea Ioana Teodora
Affective incontinence /101
Delusional interpretativity /104
Popovici Bianca Diana
Sensory interpretativity/ delusional /106
Tălmaciu Rebeca
Affective inversion /109
Radu Rareș Bogdan
Narcissism/112
Anton Irina Ruxandra
Reduplicative paramnesia (PICK) /119
Crăciun Andreea
Prosopagnosia/123
Sofraniu Andrei
Petru Raluca
Pseudohallucination /129
Todiriță Andreea Denisa
Suicidal urge /135
Grigore Florina Ana Maria
Acute reaction to a stressor /137
Cristescu Alessia
Repression/ Repression /140
Hotca Daria Ioana
Phantom pregnancy /142
Ailenei Anda Oana
Simple schizophrenia /148
Chiriță Ioana Emilia
Sensitivity/ Suspiciousness /151
Matei Alexia Iulia
Mental automatism syndrome /153
Todiriță Andreea Denisa
Burnout Syndrome /158
Raicu Elena Nicoleta
Korsakoff Syndrome /163
Chiciorea Diana
Synesthesia/168
Oniceag Ruxandra Gabriela
Twilight state /171
Pîrvu Constantin Maria
Ego dissolution experiences /176
Bărăscu Miruna
Antisocial traits /179
Matei Ingrid Elena
Adjustment disorder /181
Crăciun Alexia Gabriela
Xenopathy/185
Niță Rareș Mihai
References/187
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