therapy
noun
ther·a·py
ˈther-ə-pē
plural therapies
1
: therapeutic medical treatment of impairment, injury, disease, or disorder
The number of new patients treated for end-stage renal disease … with dialysis or renal transplantation has continued to rise exponentially with an 8.4% annualized growth rate reaching more than 160,000 patients undergoing therapy in the United States in 1989.—Friedrich K. Port
see also art therapy, chelation therapy, chemotherapy, gene therapy, hormone therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, shock therapy, speech therapy
2
: psychotherapy
Furthermore, the psychotherapist knows that all actions in therapy are messages that need be decoded and understood regardless of the 'language' the patient uses.—Bruno Bettelheim and Alvin A. Rosenfeld
Cite this Entry
“Therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/therapy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.
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