The treatment of depression: A case study using theme-analysis

Theme Analysis was applied to the transcripts of 18 counseling sessions of a middle-age depressed male to identify the themes of depression, indicate how they are linked to each other, and to track changes on the themes across psychotherapy sessions as reflected by a change process measure. Psychotherapeutic themes were defined in terms of polarities with one pole representing the problem-end on a continuum and the second pole representing the striving-towards end on a continuum. The Seven-Phase Model of the Change Process was used to assess change on the themes across the sessions. Depression was defined by DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for a Major Depressive Episode and by the Depression Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Three classes of themes were identified: descriptive, main and core. The research produced one core theme to which the other themes are linked. The results suggest that the themes change across therapy in a progressive forward manner. The theoretical implications and clinical relevance of the findings were discussed.