Zeitschrift für Depression und Angst
Offener Zugang

Abstrakt

Insight: A Confounding Variable in Therapy for Patients with Mood Disorders

Roshni Sondhi, Kamna Chhibber, and Samir Parikh

Introduction: Psychotherapy is governed by an interplay of various patient, therapist and process variables. The patients’ engagement and their level of insight play a significant role in guiding the therapeutic journey.

Methodology: Integrating concepts borrowed from client centred, metacognitive and insight-oriented therapies, this paper theoretically explores the role of insight as a confounding variable within the process of a cognitive-behavioural therapy setting, using qualitative findings derived from clinical case observations long-term therapy for a patient with mood disorder.

Discussion: Active involvement of patients within the formulation and progression of therapy has been hypothesized to improve the outcomes, as greater insight aids patients in the identification and regulation of their emotions, and relapse prevention.

Conclusion: This paper reiterates the importance of transcending the structured models of cognitive-behaviour therapy to explore the establishment of an insight-based alliance between the patient and the therapist, to achieve greater therapeutic outcomes both in terms of coping and resilience building.