Implicit cognition and the maintenance and treatment of major depression

Abstract

Although extensive research has identified the role of consciously expressed cognition in the onset and maintenance of depression, much less work has directly examined the role of nonconscious, automatic, implicit cognition biases and depression. Further, whereas there is evidence of changes in self-report measures of cognition following cognitive therapy, there has been little work that identifies the specific therapeutic techniques that may directly modify nonconscious implicit cognition among depressed individuals. Improving our understanding of the role of implicit cognition in depression and how to manage these cognitive processes may help add to the efficacy of cognitive therapy. We review the literature examining the association between implicit cognition and depression and then describe potential therapeutic strategies for managing nonconscious implicit cognition biases in depression. Finally, we propose future directions of study, including a proposed cognitive-interpersonal framework for understanding therapeutic interactions in managing implicit cognition biases.