Clinical Depression

None of us sees the world as it really is; our perception is always biased by our beliefs. Suicide bombers and corporate executives are built of the same biological material, but are biased by different beliefs and so experience a different reality. Many factors, including the rules by which you were raised, chance encounters with traumatic events, and even your gender, determine your bias. Psychologists who treat mood disorders have their own biases for these same reasons. Drs. Tina and Bill Dubin are licensed psychologists who treat depression, but each approaches the problem from a different perspective. A key to good psychotherapy outcome is the quality of the collaboration between the client and therapist. Below are brief summaries of Bill's and Tina's views of clinical depression and its treatment:

Bill's View

There are many possible ways to misperceive the world, but some are special: Self-confirmatory biases have a recursive structure, which enables them to perpetuate themselves despite their maladaptive effects - for example:

Barry worries about his social performance – he believes he will be unable to cope with the social challenges he expects to encounter at the Friday office party. Thinking such thoughts causes him to become more anxious, and the more anxious he becomes, the more he dreads the party, but the discomfort is just the insult. The real injury is that his expectations cause him to perform poorly in social circumstances, which validates his original belief. This recursive structure of internal states and external events continually influences Barry's social performance and his beliefs about himself - as well as the beliefs of others about his social competence. This pathogenic process - which may include worry or negative judgments of the self or future - cause Barry to create an unhappy social reality for himself and those around him. [For more about Barry please click here].

• Click here for methods to alleviate depression and prevent its recurrence

Tina's View

Tina is interested in the story of your depression and the context in which it occurs. What your depression is about, and how you view yourself in the story. Tina is also interested in how your situation or environment contributes to your mood. Her strategies often involve ways to manage your emotions until you can create a better situation or find an environment that offers a better fit for you. Social support can be a significant container and buffer for difficult emotions; Tina creates groups for folks in similar circumstances who might benefit from the support of one another.

Click here for ways to calm your system.

PARTS' Mood Screen - Self-assessment of the severity of your depression.

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"It is often possible to discern a structure to people's difficulties in which internal states and external events continually create the conditions for the reoccurrence of each other."

- Paul Wachtel