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A Dictionary of Initials and Acronyms used by Counselors©
Click on the first letter of the initials/abbreviation below:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Check other Acronym Dictionaries
-F-
FA = Families Anonymous is a Twelve-Step, self help, recovery and fellowship of support groups for relatives and friends of those who have alcohol, drug or behavioral problems
FAAAS = Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger Syndrome
FACES = a memory device to remember the five areas to explore in forming a relationship, including: Family dynamics and background, Attitudes and actions of the conscience, Compatibility, Examples of other relationships, and Skills. (See also: acronyms, RAM & PICK.) [Thanks to Angela Kennedy in her Counseling Today article "How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk," July 2005.]
FACT = The National Fair Access Coalition for Testing a coalition of more than 30 organizations which represents more than half a million mental health professionals united in their opposition to attempts by clinical psychologists to restrict psychological testing to their profession. FAIR members hold that freedom to administer tests should be based on a mental health professional's competency rather than their license.
FAFSA = free application for Federal Student Aid [ on-line form ] [more information]
FAPA = Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions A list of questions and answers in a brochure or web page that prepared in advance in hopes of answering common questions.
FAS = fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. It is defined by four criteria: maternal drinking during pregnancy; a characteristic pattern of facial abnormalities; growth retardation; and brain damage, which often is manifested by intellectural difficulties or behavioral problems. (See also: ARND)
FAVO = Federacion de Asociaciones Venezolanas de Orientadores (Federation of Venezuelan Counseling Associations).
FBA = Functional Behavioral Assessment or Functional Behavioral Analysis [Thanks to John MacDonald, Poulsbo, WA]
FDA = US Food and Drug Administration
FEHBP = Federal Employee Health Benefit Program
FFT = Functional Family Therapy, developed by James F. Alexander [mentioned in ACA publication, Counseling Today, March 2003]
FH+ = with a Family History of a particular problem under discussion, for example: alcoholism.
FH- = without a Family History of a particular problem under discussion, for example: alcoholism.
FHCP = Faculty of Healthcare Counsellors and Psychotherapists, a division of the BACP that provides a forum for those involved in counselling in GP Surgeries, hospitals and other healthcare settings in the United Kingdom.
FICO = Fair, Isaac and Co, developers of the credit scoring system used by credit grantors of mortgage and other types of loans. Your FICO score is a factor in whether you get your home loan.
FKA or f/k/a = formerly known as...
FLAN = the Federal Legislative Advocacy Network, an AMHCA grassroots advocacy network. To join, contact Beth Powell, Director, Public Policy & Professional Issues, AMHCA at 1-(800) 326-2642, Ext. 105, or visit the AMHCA Website.
FLE = Family Life Education. This appears to be a generic acronym for a person who has a degree and and course work in all ten family life substance areas, but does not have certification from the National Council on Family Relations. See: CFLE. [Acronym suggested by Jenne Alderks.]
FMHCA = Florida Mental Health Counselors Association.
FMLA = Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law permitting workers 12 weeks of leave without pay but with full medical benefits.
Fndn = Foundation [This has nothing to do with counseling but in my site statistics, I found that in the last three months 34 unique visitors had entered the site looking for the abbreviation for the word,"foundation." Now they have it and can get on with their lives.]
FOO = refers to family of origin issues, used to indicate a problem area for the client or a practice specialty of a counselor.
FPE = Forensic Psychological Evaluator, a credential offered by the National Board of Forensic Evaluators
FPI = Federal Prison Industries, an inmate labor program.
FPL = federal poverty level
FRACS = Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
FRCP = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
FRCPC = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Canada --a Canadian medical specialists certification. [Thanks Dr. David Hinton]
FSAD = female sexual arousal disorder
FSD = female sexual dysfunction (or disorder)
FSS = Financial Services Specialist, the DSHS worker who accepts initial applications for the Food Assistance program and DSHS financial and medical assistance programs and determines whether the applicants are financial eligible for participation in the programs..
FSSS = The Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality is a nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to supporting scientific research related to sexuality. Created in 1985 by SSSS, the goal is to to establish a perpetual pool of funds (via endowments) to facilitate the scholarly study of sexuality. See SSSS.
FST or FSTs = field sobriety test(s) include a variety of physical and verbal tasks that a police officer may ask a driver to perform in order to check for impaired driving.
ftf or f2f = face to face (an actual meeting of two people as opposed to meeting on line or on the telephone.
FTM = Female to Male--A person assigned 'female' at birth, but who identifies as male: the person may or may not seek or desire surgery. A transgendered person whose gender identity (sense of being mal/female) differs from their assigned birth sex....also those whose behavior, identity or appearance is not congruent with their assigned birth sex. [Adapted from "Transgender 101," Counseling Today, February 2008, a ACA publication.]
FTO Program = Field Training Officer Program (supervised on-the-job training)
Like to suggest an acronym that isn't here? Contact Us.
GA = General Assistance (see GA-U, below).
GAD = generalized anxiety disorder
GAIN = Global Appraisal of Individual Needs. "The GAIN is a progressive and integrated series of measures and computer applications designed to support substance abuse treatment practices, including initial screening; brief interventions, and referrals to ancillary services. The GAIN provides a standardized clinical assessment that providers use in the diagnosis, placement, and treatment planning process for people receiving services."
GAL = Guardian Ad Litem, an attorney or other trained person who is appointed by the court to represent the interest of a child or disabled person in a pending court case--commonly used to represent children in a divorce there are allegations of domestic violence or child abuse or custody is contested.
GAM = gay Asian men
GAU or GA-U = General Assistance--Unemployable a category of state public assistance paid to persons who are unable to hold a job due to mental or physical disabilities. [Washington State]
GBL = a manufacturing precursor to GHB. GBL converts to GHB in the body and has the same effects and cautions as with GHB, but GBL is more potent.
GC-C = Grief Counselor, Certified (Certified Grief Counselor), American Academy of Grief Counseling, American Institute of Health Care Professionals.
GCDF = Global Career Development Facilitator (1997). This is the international version of the CDF. The Career Development Facilitator is a paraprofessional credential offered by the Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE), an affiliate of NBCC. The credential began its growth in the United States and is now being offered internationally as the Global Career Development Facilitator (G-CDF) and (as of 2008) has been used to develop the career guidance certification programs in nine counties.
GCMH = Global Council for Mental Health (a new WHO organization, 2004).
GFAS = Gay Fathers Association of Seattle.
GHB = gamma-hydroxy-butyrate is a naturally occurring metabolite found in the hypothalamus, it's classified as a sedative-hypnotic or CNS depressant.
GLBT = Gay, lesbian bisexual transgender
GLBTQ = Gay, lesbian bisexual, transgender and questioning.
GLMA = Originally founded in 1981 as the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, the national Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is a non-profit organization working to end homophobia in health care. GLMA, 459 Fulton Street, Suite 107, San Francisco, CA 94102.
GMHS = "geriatric mental health specialist" is defined by WAC 388-865-0150 which applies to an agency that is licensed by the Mental Health Division as a Community Mental Health Program. This would not apply to an individual in private practice. [Thanks to Washington State DSHS, Mental Health Division, (360) 902-0787.]
GSA-NCC = Graduate Student Application for the National Certified Counselor credential program, allows advanced students in participating counselor preparation programs at colleges and universities to to take the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) and start the certification process while their "book learning" is fresh. [Thanks to The NCC, Spring 2007, page 20, a publication of the NBCC.]
HA = health assessment (brief physical exam)
HAADAC = Hawaii Association of Addiction and Drug Abuse Counselors
HAART = highly active anti-retroviral therapies, the so-called AIDS cocktail drugs introduced in 1996.
HACEG = Hawaii Association for Counselors and Educators in Government
HALT = a memory device for persons in recovery from addictions: "Don't let yourself get Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired."
HAV = Hepatitis A virus, usually transmitted by fecal contamination, causes a common liver disease. Good personal hygiene and proper sanitation can help prevent hepatitis A. Vaccines are also available for long-term prevention of hepatitis A virus infection in persons 2 years of age and older.
HBLU = Healing from the Body Level Up, a brief therapy technique "that engages a mind/body/spirit methodology to help clients struggling with grief and loss, along with other physical and emotional conditions." Developed by Judith A. Swack, Needham, Mass. [Thanks to ACA "Counseling Today" July 2003.]
HBP = high blood pressure, usually defined as a blood pressure reading higher than 140/90 millimeters of mercury.
HBV = Hepatitis B virus, a blood borne infection. is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. Immunization is recommended for health care professionals and now for all children as part of their childhood shots.
HBWD = Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities
HCA = Hawaii Counseling Association, a state chapter of the American Counseling Association.
HCDA = Hawaii Career Development Association
HCFA = Health Care Financing Administration is now called the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The HCFA acronym is found on "Form HCFA-1500" claim forms which are still used by mental health practitioners when submitting claims to insurance companies.
HCH = Healthcare for the Homeless
HCP = health care provider, as in "See a HCP routinely for evaluation of your liver."
HCV = Hepatitis C virus infection is the most common chronic blood borne infection in the United States.
HEC or HECB = Higher Education Coordinating Board, a Washington state agency governed by a 10-member citizen board. Charged by state law with representing the "broad public interest" in higher education, HECB is calling for consolidation of three state agencies into one strong statewide governing board and a 20% increase in the number of students who graduate from college by 2010.
HEN = Hakomi Education Network is an international community of teachers dedicated to sharing the essence of Hakomi through a variety of experiential workshops and trainings.
HEPP = HIV & Hepatitis Education Prison Project ( reported in HEPP News ), sponsored by the Brown Medical School, Office of Continuing Education
HERE = The Washington State Department of Health's Health Education Resource Exchange
HHS = US Department of Health and Human Services.
HIDTA = High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
HIPAA = The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1997. People who are changing jobs, having a baby, getting divorced, or going through other changes that can affect insurance coverage stand to benefit. The National Partnership for Women and Families offers an easy-to-read " Guide to HIPAA." For professionals call HHS directly at 1-(866)-627-7748, TTY 1-(866)-788-4989. See detailed guidance from the Office for Civil Rights website. [Additional Links]
HIPDB = National Healthcare Integrity Protection Databank created by federal law, contains records of disciplinary actions taken against Health Care Providers by the various states.
HIPPA = That's the way people pronounce it, but the correct spelling of the acronym is HIPAA (see above).
HIPSO = Healthcare Providers Service Organization, an ACA-endorsed professional liability insurance for counselors.
HIT = Health Information Technology.
HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a virus transmitted by body fluids such as blood or semen.
HJN = The Health Justice Network
HMCDA = Hawaii Multicultural Counseling and Development Association
HMHCA = Hawaii Mental Health Counselors Association, a state chapter of the AMHCA.
HMO = Health Maintenance Organization. HMOs usually pay flat fees (capitation ) to providers for all health care services, regardless of utilization. This is supposed to encourage providers to keep patients healthy at the lowest cost, and avoid unnecessary procedures. Unfortunately, it also risks encouraging inadequate care. [Thanks to Richard F. Small, PhD, Pennsylvania.]
HOH = hard of hearing.
HPV = Human Papilloma Virus, there are "more than 100 strains of the human papilloma virus. About 30 types of HPV are linked to genital infections, including genital warts. Other strains cause warts on the hands, feet or mouth. HPV 16 can trigger abnormal cell growth and is responsible for more than half of all cases of cervical cancer." [Thanks to Seattle P-I, 11/2/04.]
HQCB = Healthcare Quality Certification Board, (which administers the CPHQ exam) is part of the National Association for Healthcare Quality.
HRACC = Hampton Roads Association of Clinical Counselors, the largest and most active region of the Virginia Association of Clinical Counselors.
HRSA = Human Resources and Services Administration
HRT = Harm Reduction Therapy
HSAD = hypoactive sexual arousal disorder
HSDOED = Human Services Department Office of Economic Development
HSP = highly sensitive people
HTML = Hypertext Markup Language. Coding or tags that direct a computer browser how to display a web page on your personal computer. To view the HTML for a web page, click on the "view" button on your browser's toolbar and then click on "source."
Hx = history (as in: "client reports hx of depression).
Looking for initials that aren't here? Contact Us.
If you would like to suggest an additional counseling-related acronym, contact us.
Check other acronym dictionaries
This document is Copyrighted© 1999-2005 Floyd Else, MA, and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part without prior written permission of the author except when single definitions are credited to the author, source and site name. [Floyd Else, Dictionary of Initials, Acronyms and Initials Used by Counselors and Social Workers, CounselingSeattle.com] All rights reserved.
The names of individuals may appear after certain definitions to indicate a contribution to this dictionary of initials and abbreviations.
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