Hypnotic intervention for ambiguity as a depressive risk factor

In the face of ambiguous life events, depressed individuals are more likely to make negative and depressing interpretations than nondepressed individuals. Fundamental to the success of cognitive-behavioral treatments, one of the most empirically supported treatments for depression is teaching the client to recognize and self-correct so-called cognitive distortions. To facilitate that learning process, clients can learn to better recognize and tolerate ambiguity inherent in many situations, and thereby diminish the drive to form subjective interpretations (either negative or positive) when more objective evidence is unavailable. This article describes ambiguity as a risk factor for depression and details a strategy employing hypnosis for teaching the skills of both recognizing and tolerating ambiguity.