autotherapy
|au-to-the-ra-py|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔːtoʊˈθɛrəpi/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːtəˈθɛrəpi/
self-healing/self-treatment
Etymology
'autotherapy' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'autos' and 'therapeia', where 'autos' meant 'self' and 'therapeia' meant 'healing' or 'treatment'.
'autotherapy' was formed in modern English by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' with the noun 'therapy' (from Greek 'therapeia' via Latin and Old French) to create a compound meaning 'self-treatment'.
Initially, the components meant 'self' and 'healing', and over time the compound has been used both for psychological self-help practices and, in medical contexts, for therapies using a patient's own tissues or fluids.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
therapy or therapeutic practices performed or directed by oneself — self-administered psychological treatment, self-help therapy, or practices intended to promote emotional or mental healing without a professional therapist.
After reading several books on coping skills, she began autotherapy to manage her anxiety between sessions with her counselor.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
a medical usage meaning treatment that uses a patient's own bodily materials (for example, blood, tissue, or cells) or autologous procedures — often called autologous therapy or autohemotherapy in specific contexts.
In experimental protocols, some researchers explored autotherapy using the patient's own plasma as an adjunct to wound healing.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/29 05:06