Etymologically
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psychotherapy

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌsaɪkoʊˈθɛɹəpi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English psycho- + therapy,[2][3][4][5] probably after French psychothérapie, recorded from 1888 according to the OED and 1889 according to Etymonline.[2][3] Merriam-Webster treats it as a word of the international scientific vocabulary.[6] The OED compares German Psychotherapie (1892 or earlier), itself from French.[2] The prefix psycho- goes back to Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind”),[3][1] and therapy comes through New Latin therapia from Ancient Greek θεραπεία (therapeía, “healing, service done to the sick”), from θεραπεύω (therapeúō, “to cure, treat medically”).[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The treatment of disease by psychic or hypnotic influence, and of disorders of the mind by psychological means: 1892, in an article by F. W. van Eeden in the Medical Magazine.[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1890,[6] Dictionary.com to 1890–95,[4] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 19th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

In its early use the word meant mainly the treatment of disease by "psychic" methods, above all hypnotism.[3][2][5] It was preceded by psychotherapeia, used in medical writing in 1853 for the healing influence of the mind, and by psychotherapeutics (1872).[3] The modern sense, treatment of mental and emotional disorders by psychological methods, especially by talking, has replaced the older one;[5][6][7] Merriam-Webster also uses the word for a particular school or method of such treatment, such as Freudian psychoanalysis.[6]

Timeline

  • 1853 – psychotherapeia, the remedial influence of the mind, in medical writing.[3]
  • 1872 – psychotherapeutics.[3]
  • 1892 – psychotherapy, treatment by psychic or psychological methods.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The treatment of mental or emotional disorders by psychological methods, especially through conversation between patient and therapist.[7][6][2]
  2. A particular school or method of such treatment, such as psychoanalysis.[6]
  3. (historical) The treatment of disease by hypnotic or psychic influence.[2][5]

Word family

  • psychotherapeutic
  • psychotherapeutically
  • psychotherapist

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins