Depression (from Mary)

[from Mary Powers 940224]

Hal P. on depression (940223)

I diagnose the problem as not having one's own reality and
feelings validated by others. Clinical depression is the feeling
that one's experience of the world is isolated and apart from
others'.

Hal, I think that you are confusing the problem with the cure.
Depression is a rotten feeling about oneself and the world. It is
aggravated, but not caused, by people saying things like "things
aren't that bad, cheer up, look at the bright side, you'll feel
better tomorrow" and similar invalidating remarks that lead a
person to feel isolated (no one understands me).

A major role of therapists (unless they are into curing
depression with a prescription for Prozac) is to understand,
appreciate, and accept the depressed person, and communicate this
to him - i.e. validate his feelings. This is what Carl Rogers'
client-centered therapy was all about. PCT suggests that this
helps the client to validate his own reference signal that he
himself could not fully accept because it represents one side of
a conflict. By doing this, the therapist also helps the client to
become aware of the opposing reference signal as well - the part
of him that is resisting feeling so bad. Getting both sides of
the conflict into awareness is the first step towards resolving
the conflict - reorganizing.

What is important about the therapist is that a depressed,
conflicted person is unable to think very well about his problem.
As he talks about it with a person who is not in conflict in that
area, he is able to get his thoughts back in a clearer fashion
than if he were trying to run the situation through his own
imagination. The therapist doesn't share the client's reference
signals, but he is uncritical and unjudgemental, and supports the
client through a scary process.

This is as far as PCT and a brief career 40 years ago at Rogers'
counseling center takes me. I'd love to hear from Dick Robertson
and David Goldstein on this topic. And David, as the only PCT
clinical psychologist in captivity (i.e. trapped in this Net) how
about getting out your DSM or whatever it's called and telling us
what depression "really" is - and what you think it is after 20
(?) years of PCT.

Mary P.