Body-Subject or Neo-Liberal Subject? Phenomenology, Depression, and CBT
Patrick Seniuk
Philosophies April 1, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/philosophies11020053 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that chronic depression is characterized by alienation between body-subject and world, and that CBT's focus on disordered thinking independent of situated life reflects a neo-liberal ideology rather than addressing the heterogeneous phenomenology of depression. |
Abstract
Depression is notable for high rates of disability. The medical model typically characterizes depression as a physiological dysfunction or psychological disorder. However, both views fail to appreciate the phenomenology of depressed experience. Drawing on the existential phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty, this article contends that the lived experience of chronic depression is marked by a disturbance between the body-subject and the world. More specifically, the experience of depression is characterized by alienation from the world, self and others. While anti-depressants have long been the first line of treatment of depression, many governments subsidize cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as an adjunct treatment. CBT is said to be the gold standard psychotherapeutic treatment given that it is evidence-based, cost-effective, and short in duration. However, not only are these justifications questionable, but the theoretical underpinnings of CBT have ideological significance. Rather than approaching depressed persons as body-subjects, CBT casts service users as neo-liberal subjects, insofar as depression is characterized as disordered thinking that is independent of a person’s situated life. The emphasis on quickly returning people to work to reduce strain on welfare systems, while a valid economic concern, is not a valid therapeutic concern. The limited choice of subsidized psychotherapeutic options fails to recognize that depression is a heterogenous phenomenon, meaning that the CBT model of disordered thinking is not necessarily representative of the way in which depression manifests.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin-assisted therapy of major depressive disorder using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a therapeutic frame | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroinflammation and neuroprogression in depression: Effects of alternative drug treatments | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Improving cognitive functioning in major depressive disorder with psychedelics: A dimensional approach | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |