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Why Depressive Symptoms Cause Distress: The Clients’ Perspective
Author(s) -
Hanson Bjorn,
Young Michael A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.21872
Subject(s) - distress , psychology , depressive symptoms , perspective (graphical) , psychological intervention , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , distressing , psychiatry , association (psychology) , psychotherapist , anxiety , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , macroeconomics , chemistry
Background Depressive symptoms are associated with distress, but research has not focused on the processes underlying this association. Method We interviewed 18 patients experiencing depressive symptoms to identify the various reasons why depressive symptoms cause distress. Digital recordings were transcribed and grounded theory methods were used in analyzing the data and building theory. Results We identified 14 reasons for why patients find depressive symptoms distressing. These reasons frequently were particular thoughts, behaviors, or subsequent outcomes in response to the symptom; in other cases, the experience of the symptom itself directly caused distress. Conclusions We present a general model of direct and indirect symptom‐distress relationships that may help target clinical interventions for depression. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Clin. Psychol. 68:860‐874, 2012