Digging down or scratching the surface: how patients use metaphors to describe their experiences of psychotherapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In the present study, we wanted to explore which metaphors patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) use to explain their experience of being in therapy and their improvement from depression.

Methods

Patients with MDD (N = 22) received either psychodynamic therapy (PDT) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They were interviewed with semi-structured qualitative interviews after ending therapy. The transcripts were analyzed using a method based on metaphor-led discourse analysis.

Results

Metaphors were organized into three different categories concerning the process of therapy, the therapeutic relationship and of improvement from depression. Most frequent were the metaphorical concepts of surface and depth, being open and closed, chemistry, to

SUBMITTER: Malkomsen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8555134 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature