Estudos sobre a memória na depressão: achados e implicações para a terapia cognitiva

Abstract

The present study intends to point out the benefits of the integration between basic re- search and psychotherapy. Autobiographic memories of depressed patients were empha- sized, which are characterized by being overgeneral (i. e., extremely generic and unespecific). Among the consequences of the tendency for overgeneral mnemonic pro- cessing there are the difficulties to ima-gine the future, deficits in problem solving skills, facilitation of the perpetuation of ruminative processes and suicidal acts. Implications for cognitive therapy on depression turns around the need to emphasize the specificity, whether they are related to past situations or to future desired circumstances.