title: The psychological organization of depression.
abstract: On the basis of the intensive psychotherapy of about 40 depressed patients over the course of two decades, the authors describe three premorbid types of depressive personality: 1) one based on a "dominant other" relationship, 2) one based on a "dominant goal," and 3) one that is a form of character structure or personality disorder. They also describe typical childhood experiences of depressive adults and discuss their theory of the nature of depression as a human experience. They characterize depression as a limitation of alternate ways of thinking and as self-inhibition from new experiences.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002668:Child Rearing; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy