Clinical Phenomenology and Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive therapies are often biased in their assessment of clinical problems by their emphasis on the role of verbally-mediated thought in shaping our emotions, and in stressing the influence of thought upon feeling. Alternatively, a more phenomenological appraisal of psychological dysfunction suggests that emotion and thinking are complementary processes which influence each other. Cognitive psychology developed out of information-processing models, whereas phenomenological psychology is rooted in a philosophical perspective that avoids the assumptions of positivist methodology. But, despite their different origins, the two disciplines overlap and complement each other. This book illustrates how feeling states are a crucial component of mental health problems and, if adequately differentiated, can result in a greater understanding of mental health. The book highlights the impact of self-experience in shaping a variety of common and rare syndromes.