The Nested States Model: A Phenomenologically-Grounded Model of the Mind.
George H Denfield, Evan J. Kyzar
Psychopathology 2024 DOI: 10.1159/000540319 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Brain states Enactivism Experiential states Psychopathology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that the Nested States Model provides a framework for characterizing patterns of subjective experience in psychopathology, aiding clinical practice and research integration. |
Abstract
Subjective experience is central to the nature of mental illness, yet it has not played a central role in most empirical approaches to psychopathology. While phenomenological perspectives in psychiatry have seen a recent resurgence, there remains a need for more detailed models of psychopathological processes based on explicit phenomenological and enactive foundations. We present a framework derived from the Nested States Model (NSM) through which such phenomenologically-grounded models might be constructed. The NSM describes the dynamic structure of subjective experience as a system of nested states that reciprocally influence one another across hierarchical layers. Here, we show how the NSM provides a scheme for characterizing patterns of experience that comprise various psychopathological processes. We demonstrate the utility of this scheme both for clinical practice and for building our knowledge of psychopathological processes more broadly. The NSM can advance three aims that we see as critical for the lasting integration of phenomenological approaches to psychopathology within psychiatry. First, we show that the NSM provides a means for constructing clinical formulations and treatment considerations that center squarely on an individual's subjective experiences. Second, the NSM supplies a framework for organizing findings from clinical-phenomenological research that can guide the construction of broader phenomenologically-grounded models of psychopathological processes. Lastly, the NSM aligns our perspective on subjective experience with emerging perspectives on brain dynamics, helping to bridge phenomenological work with ongoing neurophysiological research.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
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| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 16
- The lived experience of psychosis: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics. World Psychiatry June 1, 2022
- Self, Solipsism, and Schizophrenic Delusions Philosophy, psychiatry & psychology June 1, 2001
- Investigating modes of being in the world: an introduction to Phenomenologically grounded qualitative research Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences February 16, 2021
- Dynamical Relations in the Self-Pattern Frontiers in Psychology May 11, 2018
- Thought insertion and disturbed for-me-ness (minimal selfhood) in schizophrenia. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2019
and 11 more in the library