Multiple selves and depression

This article describes a relational conception of the self grounded in cognitive theory. The self is considered in terms of several relationships, including (a) the interplay between its various processes and contents, (b) the implicit relation between self and other in its representational content, (c) the transitions among the various states of mind that an individual experiences (referred to as self-states), and (d) the reciprocity between the various states of two individuals in a therapeutic interaction. Depression is understood from this perspective as involving an avoidance of an emotional experience. Clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate the emergence of depressive states in psychotherapy sessions and the process toward effecting change by increasing awareness of these states and what they avoid in the context of the therapeutic relationship.