The Self-Identification Program (SIP): A Clinically Implemented Third-Wave CBT Deepening Dysfunctional Self-Identification in Mood Disorders.
Martin Leurent, Déborah Ducasse
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) November 20, 2025 DOI: 10.3390/medicina61112071 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Self-Identification Program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion Emptiness Loving/kindness Mood disorders Neurophenomenology Psychotherapy process Self-concept Self-identification Third-wave cbt |
| Key points | Proposes that the Self-Identification Program (SIP) provides a novel, mechanistically grounded pathway for enduring change in depressive and bipolar spectrum disorders by targeting dysfunctional self-identification. |
Abstract
Third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT3) have progressively shifted the focus of psychotherapy from symptom reduction to process-based and transdiagnostic mechanisms of change, emphasizing self-identification as a core dimension. Within this evolution, the Self-Identification Program (SIP) represents a conceptual and clinical advancement particularly relevant to mood disorders, where maladaptive self-identification, rumination, and self-judgment play central roles. SIP directly targets dysfunctional self-identification-the reification of transient and maladaptive mental contents as defining features of a self-through a framework integrating the three levels of CBT3: mindfulness (CBT3.1), loving/kindness and compassion (CBT3.2), and deconstructive insight into the nature of a self (CBT3.3). Theoretically, SIP aligns with dimensional psychiatry (AMPD, HiTOP, RDoC) and recent advances in behavioral linguistics (Relational Frame Theory) and psychotherapy (Process-Based Behavioral Therapy). By integrating linguistic, affective, and neuroscientific perspectives, SIP bridges contextual behavioral science and contemplative practice, offering a unified, process-based model of identity transformation. Clinically, SIP extends CBT3 beyond mindfulness and loving/kindness and/or compassion training to specifically address the mechanism by which self-identification becomes a source of suffering-namely, the mistaken identification with an independent and permanent self. In doing so, SIP provides a novel, mechanistically grounded pathway toward enduring change in depressive and bipolar spectrum disorders.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 20
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse JAMA Psychiatry April 28, 2016
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
- Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects. Neuroimage August 1, 2019
- The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review Frontiers in Psychology November 3, 2015
and 15 more in the library