Chinese medicine's Five-Phase theory in the western clinical context: A new conceptual model for understanding depression.

摘要

With its underlying assumption that all processes and phenomena are interconnected, Chinese traditional medical theory offers a coherent paradigm for contextualizing patients and the concerns they bring to therapy. Chinese Medicine's Five-Phase theory is a holistic model, describing both the psychic and somatic aspects of human health and illness. This theory classifies human physiological, mental, and emotional process according to five fundamental categories---Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These categories are also used to describe the dominant qualities of an individual, classifying them as one of five unique types, each of which embodies a different pattern of core organizing characteristics. The practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy is particularly well-suited for the use of this context-driven framework.; In this integrative literature review, first the literature regarding Chinese medicine's Five-Phase theory is examined. Second, the literature on depression---one of the most common conditions presented in Western psychotherapy---is explored from both the Western empirical perspective as well as from the perspective of current psychodynamic theory. The potential utility of the Five-Phase model in the context of Western psychodynamic psychotherapy is developed by bringing these two areas of the literature together and articulating ways in which the Five-Phase model might be relevant to a broader understanding of both the individual and the nature of depression. The postulated typology provides a map for recognizing the fundamental nature of individuals within a mind-body/psyche-soma matrix. Its clinical application in a Western psychotherapeutic setting is shown by conceptualizing depression within the context of each of the distinct Five-Phase types. These new conceptualizations of the patterns of depression provide an example of the potential for this holistic framework to include the mind-body unity of the individual and expand our basis for understanding clinical issues and the therapeutic process.