Volume 18, Issue 3
On Becoming Courageous: Personal construct therapy in a case of major depressive disorder, fibromyalgia and other comorbidities
Abstract
In this article the case of Sara is presented. She is diagnosed with fibromyalgia, depression and other comorbid disorders. Psychologically, one of her main difficulties lies in putting limits to others' demands on her which damages her relationship with loved ones and also with herself. Looking at her personal constructs, it is apparent that for her satisfying her needs is not compatible with responding to others' demands. She ends up handing over in order to keep up with her self image of being a good person which is a key stone in her sense of identity, a core construct. The brief format of personal construct therapy carried with her dealt with this dilemma and some significant changes occurred which were maintained at the follow-up.
Keywords
personal construct therapy, fibromyalgia, depression, multiple comorbidities, cognitive conflicts