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Modular Treatment for Complex Depression According to Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy

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Depression and Personality Dysfunction

Part of the book series: Depression and Personality ((DP))

Abstract

Depression in personality disorders come from multiple sources, ranging from poor metacognition to maladaptive interpersonal schemas and dysfunctional coping strategies, such as avoidance or perfectionism. A modular treatment is needed in order to tackle with the different path leading to low mood in this population. Metacognition Interpersonal Therapy (MIT) adopts such a modular strategy. Five modules are adopted: Module 1 aims at forming a shared understanding of intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning that leads to depression. Module 2 aims at reducing interpersonal repetitive thinking (rumination and worry). Module 3 tackles with behavioural coping, such as avoidance or perfectionism. Therapists and patients negotiate behavioural tasks, such as behavioural activation or trying to counteract perfectionistic strategies. Module 4 aims at helping clients to realize their maladaptive schemas about self, and others are mostly ideas and do not necessarily correspond to the truth. Here, therapists try to help them contact alternative and more benevolent views of human relationships they already might have had but did not notice. Module 5 aims at giving room to healthy, positive, and benevolent views of the self and giving them more room in the stream of consciousness and let the person’s actions be guided by them. During all modules, therapists use a wide array of experiential techniques ranging from guided imagery and rescripting, bodily work, role-play, two chairs and attention training. In order to illustrate how this modular treatment works, we describe the case of a 62-year-old woman with major depression comorbid with paranoid PD with passive-aggressive and avoidant personality traits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy, Rome, Italy

    Antonella Centonze, Paolo Ottavi, Raffaele Popolo & Giancarlo Dimaggio

  2. Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Angus MacBeth

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  1. Antonella Centonze
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  2. Paolo Ottavi
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  3. Angus MacBeth
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  4. Raffaele Popolo
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  5. Giancarlo Dimaggio
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality; Department of Psychiatry, Pontificia Universidad CatĂłlica de Chile, Santiago, RM - Santiago, Chile

    Guillermo de la Parra

  2. Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality; Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, RM - Santiago, Chile

    Paula Dagnino

  3. Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality; School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad CatĂłlica de Chile, Santiago, RM - Santiago, Chile

    Alex Behn

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Centonze, A., Ottavi, P., MacBeth, A., Popolo, R., Dimaggio, G. (2021). Modular Treatment for Complex Depression According to Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy. In: de la Parra, G., Dagnino, P., Behn, A. (eds) Depression and Personality Dysfunction. Depression and Personality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70699-9_10

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