Mapping the Value Changes in Depression and Recovery

doi:10.1017/9781108883535.013

Chapter 11 - Mapping the Value Changes in Depression and Recovery

from Part III - Common Clinical Conditions: The Relevance and Usefulness of a Values-Based Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 June 2025

Robert B. Dudas

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Robert B. Dudas

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Robert B. Dudas: Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

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Summary

The person’s values determine the meaning structure of the world they live in and drive their actions. The depressed patient’s values tend to change dramatically over the weeks and usually return to normal. At the height of their illness, patients can constantly feel that they are transgressing important personal and group values.

Examining the values at play is similar to creating a map with three dimensions: (1) the level of organization/proximity to primary stakeholders; (2) the hierarchy; and (3) the temporality of values. The patient’s values can be misaligned with those of others temporarily owing to the illness, and value-mapping can facilitate realignment. Changes in value hierarchy are often necessary for recovery. These changes can be dramatic and can happen at a faster pace whilst the person is becoming ill and during recovery.

The patient can be temporarily cut off from the values they would normally hold. Besides records of their former wishes and collateral information, sources of knowledge about value changes include peer support workers, first-hand narratives, philosophical and social scientific studies, media reports, and art portrayal of depression. Changes in one’s life narrative are also essential for recovery and resilience. The patient’s social environment, including the professionals, can facilitate (or hinder) this.

Keywords

depression values-based practice phenomenological psychopathology life-world analysis hermeneutics value-mapping hierarchy of values temporality of values life narrative recovery

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Type: Chapter
Information: Values in Psychiatry
Managing Complexity and Advancing Solutions
, pp. 157 - 173
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108883535.013 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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