4th update: 4 July 2009

 

 

The Graves Model - and its Spiral Dynamics 'build' - lie at the heart of Integrated SocioPsychology, The following is a plea to psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, mental health workers and those involved in research into various areas of Psychopathology to examine rigorously the work of Clare W Graves (1970, 1971/2002, 1978/2005) with a view to its implications for mental health conditions.

 

There are literally millions of people whose suffering could be alleviated if we understood more of the psychological processes underlying it.

 

 

There are a multiplicity of reasons why the work of Clare W Graves (1970, 1971/2002, 1978/2005) needs to be taken up much more comprehensively by the academic communities and investigated rigorously for its validity. (Which will result in a much higher profile and wider acceptance of the model.)

 

One of these reasons, I propose, is the Graves Model's applicability to mental health. Strangely enough, for all the many champions of Graves' work and the Spiral Dynamics 'build' developed by Don Beck & Chris Cowan (1996), little has been said about the relationship between Graves' Spiral of motivational systems (vMEMES) and psychological disorders.

 

Although my plea is for research into the Graves Model related to all forms of mental illness, in this article I will be focusing primarily on 'Clinical Depression'.

 

There are thousands of research projects to be undertaken and hundreds of books to be written to apply the arguments I will put forward not only to Depression but many other forms of psychological disorder. However, the limitations of space and time - plus, to some extent, my own expertise - mean we shall restrict ourselves primarily to Depression in this piece.

 

So...can vMEMES  cause Clinical Depression (aka Unipolar Disorder or Major Depression)? Since vMEMES are the neurological systems which motivate us according to the Life Conditions we experience in both our internal and external Environments, the answer per se has to be ‘No’. However, by putting together certain pieces of evidence, it is possible to see how certain vMEMES in certain conditions could predispose some of us to Depression.

 

Just to be clear what we mean by Clinical Depression, it's pertinent to refer to the symptoms described in the 'Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association, the leading psychiatric classification system in the world. It lists the following:-

• Emotional symptoms: sad, depressed mood; loss of pleasure in usual activities
• Motivational symptoms: changes in activity level; passivity; loss of interest and energy
• Somatic symptoms: difficulties in sleeping (insomnia) or increased sleeping (hypersomnia); weight loss or gain; tiredness
• Cognitive symptoms: negative self-concept; hopelessness; pessimism; lack of self-esteem; self-blame and self-reproach; problems with concentration or the ability to think clearly; recurring thoughts of suicide or death

According to DSM, 5 of the listed symptoms must be present almost every day for a minimum of 2 weeks for the condition to be classified as Major Depression. However, there are reported numerous problems with diagnosis, as commentators such as Andrew Solomon (2002) have been at pains to stress. Reports of misdiagnosis are not exactly uncommon. Guilt, irritability, aches and pains and, in women, changes in menstrual patterns are non-DSM symptoms associated with Depression by many clinicians. Clearly, there needs to be some flexibility in interpretation of the symptoms and their severity; but DSM does give us a starting point for identifying the condition under discussion.

 

Generally these days the principal approach to psychological illness - as well as many physiological illnesses - is to view such conditions as the result of a Diathesis-Stress interaction. 'Diathesis' is the predisposition to develop the condition. 'Stress' means environmental and/or behavioural factors which trigger the onset of the condition. The concept of a genetic predisposition to certain physiological illnesses such as heart disease and cancer has been accepted in the medical professions for a number of decades, with interventions being made through such domains as diet and exercise to minimise the likelihood of the environmental triggers for the onset of the illness being fired.

 

The Diathesis-Stress model was first applied to psychological disorders by Joseph Zubin & Bonnie Spring (1977) in attempting to understand how Schizophrenia develops. The Diathesis can lie in abnormalities in brain structure and/or too high or too low levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, GABA, serotonin and noradrenaline; as we shall see, for women, in particular, fluctuations in hormones can have devastating effects on mood. And there is increasing evidence that, in many cases, the predisposition is genetic in nature. A Stress factor could be lifestyle - eg: cannabis use has become increasingly identified with the development of Schizophrenia - see the Blog: ‘Time to turn against Cannabis!’ - or a specific event - eg: the sudden death of your partner/spouse.

 

How much the onset of a condition will be due to Diathesis and how much to Stress will depend on the particular psychological disorder and in any case will vary widely from individual case to individual case. Certainly some individuals seem to experience the onset of a condition purely from Stress factors; while having a Diathesis for a condition, in most cases, by no means dooms someone to develop that condition.

 

It is reasonable to assume that vMEMES are part of the complex Diathesis-Stress interactions. Since the crux of the Graves Model is the interaction between the internal coping mechanism (vMEME) and the Life Conditions (what's going on) in the Environment (internal or external), it fits the Diathesis-Stress frame rather well.

 

Biological Diatheses

Major/Clinical Depression tends to be termed either Endogenous - ie: it comes from within; so it is primarily due to the Diathesis factor - or Reactive - ie: the condition is the response to stressing environmental factors.

 

However, Major Depression tends to come up with the lowest concordance rates of the psychotic illnesses. For example, M G Allen’s widely-respected 1976 study found concordance rates of monozygotic (from the same egg) twins suffering from Major Depression mostly to be around 40%. By contrast he found Major Depression's very ugly cousin, Manic Depressive Psychosis (aka Bipolar Disorder), to have a monozygotic twin concordance rate of 72%. In other words, if one identical twin develops Manic Depression, according to Allen, there's a statistical probability of 72% the other will develop it. With Major Depression, the other twin becoming similarly depressed is more of a significant possibility than a probability - down to 40%.

 

So the Diathesis effect in Major Depression is important - particularly for those who suffer from purely Endogenous Depression! - but the ability to cope with the stressing factors is perhaps more important in the majority of cases. That ability to cope results from a mix of endogenous, motivational and learned factors.

 

There is undoubtedly a genetic element in many instances of Depression. Recent research by Alexander Neumeister, Dennis Charney & Wayne Drevets (2004) from the US National Institute of Mental Health suggests that tryptophan depletion unmasks an inborn trait – the essential amino acid trytophan being the chemical precursor for the generation of serotonin. Lowered serotonin levels, which have been associated with Major Depression for many years, affect emotion-regulating circuitry involving the anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex. Essentially this means that some people are unable to extract enough trytophan from what they digest to form sufficient serotonin to keep these neural networks functioning effectively.

 

Since monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes in the brain break down serotonin, there is a need to build up new supplies regularly of this neurotransmitter. People who have difficulty naturally in processing trytophan, therefore, are at a major disadvantage.

 

Keeping with the notion that MAOs break down serotonin, there is, unfortunately for a number of women, a gender bias in the way Depression often works. The levels of the hormone oestregen decrease (as progesterone increases) as a part of the menstrual cycle. High levels of oestregen help inhibit this breakdown or 'reuptake' of serotonin. (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as Rivvol, and serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), like Prozac, are used as anti-depressant drugs because they have the same effect.) When oestregen levels drop in the approach to menses, MAOs are less inhibited in their breakdown of serotonin - and this is thought to be a key contributing factor to PreMenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and the depressed mood of many women during their periods.

 

Lowered oestregen levels and, thereby, lowered serotonin levels may well be a principal contributing factor as to why twice as many women as men are diagnosed with Depression in the Western world. It may also help explain why more women are 'chocoholics' with a preference for milk chocolate. Tryotophan is abundant in milk; and milk is used plentifully in the production of milk chocolate. Effectively: eat milk chocolate and boost your serotonin levels!

 

While approximately 75% of women experience some degree of PMS on a regular basis, by no means do all of them experience depressive symptoms to the levels required for a DSM diagnosis of Depression. So there must be other factors involved - biological, behavioural or environmental.

 

The great Anglo-German psychologist Hans J Eysenck (1967) certainly saw parts of the brain as determining natural temperament.On his Dimensions of Temperament model, people high in Introversion (due to overstimulation of the cortex by the ascending reticular activating system) and high in Neuroticism (as a result of a very reactive amygdala) will be Melancholic personalities. Such people will tend to easily become anxious, moody pessimistic and unhappy. Clearly a natural Diathesis!

 

So, obviously then, there are people with the endogenous potential to become depressed; and it would appear women are most at risk. Thankfully most people will need some form of stress factor for Depression to take hold.

 

But what have these biological  Diatheses got to do with Graves and Spiral Dynamics?, you may ask. One way to answer that is by using the 4Q/8L (2000) framework Don Beck developed from the All Quadrants/All Levels concepts (1995) of Ken Wilber .

 

The Upper Quadrants in this schematic represent 'I'. The Lower Quadrants represent the external world - including ‘We’ - in which 'I' operates. The Upper Right represents the functioning of the biological mechanisms which manifest themselves as what we call 'mind' in the Upper Left. Thus, the vMEMES of the Upper Left, which enable us to cope with the external world of the Lower Quadrants, are dependent on the effective functioning of the biological mechanisms of the Upper Left.

 

So biological malfunctioning - preferences, even - in the Upper Right will affect our ability to develop coping systems (vMEMES) in the Upper Left. And that could make us very vulnerable indeed!

 

4Q/8L immediately demonstrates how complex the Diathesis-Stress relationship is - the Upper Right impacting upon the Upper Left’s ability to cope with life - the Lower Quadrants.  Robert Dilts’ Neurological Levels (1990) construct provides us with a model for how changes at the levels of Identity and Values & Beliefs should drive changes in Skills & Knowledge and Behaviour as the Environment (internal and/or external) changes - Life Conditions. If change in the Life Conditions requires a vMEMETIC shift in response and the individual cannot make that shift because of biological restrictions/preferences in the Upper Right Quadrant, almost by definition they will be unable to cope with their Life Conditions.

 

Not being able to cope causes stress and anxiety and, if prolonged, can lead to Depression.

A frequent cry of the 'Depressed' is: “I can't cope!”

 

Cognitive Diatheses

So, having established that biologically-determined Diatheses can influence both our vulnerability to psychological disorders such as Depression and the capacity to develop vMEMES as coping mechanisms, is it possible for there to be cognitive Diatheses?

 

The answer is - unfortunately, in one sense at least - a resounding ‘Yes’.

 

The negative version of the Cognitive Triad - developed by Aaron T Beck et al (1979) from the work of Lyn Abramson, Martin Seligman & John Teasdale (1978) and pictured below - depicts thinking patterns that create a Diathesis (predisposition) to Depression - all that’s needed is the Stress trigger.

 

For a number of years now those who study Neuro-Liguistic Programming (NLP) have looked at the effects unhealthy or limiting beliefs about yourself have in contributing to anxiety and Depression by reducing your self-efficacy. This is Albert Bandura's (1977) term for belief in one's ability to acquire and use (the neurological level of) Skills & Knowledge – which leads us back to coping or not and the potential for Depression that not being able to cope can create.

The Meta-States model (1994) of L Michael Hall has been particularly informative in understanding how individuals – and sometimes groups! – interpret sensory information through the filters of our Values & Beliefs and the memories which support them. Meaning is applied to sensory input; but then that meaning is itself interpreted to produce a new level of meaning (or meta-state) which is then interpreted again to produce yet another level of meaning – a further meta-state – and so on.

 

It needs to be stated here that, in meta-stating on sensory input, that input can come from within as well as without. So, for example, a meta-stating pattern might be triggered by a look someone gives you or it could be triggered by feelings of queasiness in your stomach.

 

NLPers now take this as a substantial step in explaining how we develop healthy and unhealthy beliefs. However, it also ties in to Fergus Craik & Robert Lockhart's Levels of Processing Theory (1972) which states that the more meaning we apply to something, the stronger the memory of it. The stronger a memory, the more it will influence us. So we end up with meta-stating patterns that influence meta-stating patterns that influence meta-stating patterns. Once we have a depressive schema, it will tend to drive us towards Depression.

 

Working through the Cognitive Triad that we can start to see how vMEMES will influence the creation of meta-states.

 

• Internal/External: do I attribute the cause of events to myself or others?
  This is critical. We need to ask the question: which vMEMES attribute success to me or to others and which attribute failure to me or to others and in what circumstances? For instance, RED credits itself with success as evidence of its powerfulness but blames others when things go wrong. BLUE credits success with having external expectations to comply with – 'doing the right thing' – and things going wrong with internal failure to comply with those external expectations.

 

• Timeless/Timebound: is the situation permanent or does it have a time limitation on it?
  vMEMES may influence here. For example, PURPLE tends to look back to the past from the present, RED has little or no sense of time, while BLUE and beyond tend to have a future focus.

 

• Global/Specific: does the state apply to a wide range of situations or to one specific instance?
  Again vMEMES may influence. For example, BLUE tends to be concerned with little details whereas GREEN is very much about bigger picture views.

 

 

From the work of Aaron T Beck via Lyn Abramson, Martin Seligman & John Teasdale. Graphic copyright © 2001 Psychology Press Ltd

If we accept the proposition that we go through the Cognitive Triad at each level of meta-stating, then the dominant vMEME(S) will influence – especially in terms of whether we attribute success to ourselves or to others and whether we attribute failure to ourselves or to others.

 

Aaron Beck identified that people with depressive schemas attribute failure to themselves and success to external factors, and tend to view situations as Timeless and Global. So clearly vMEMES on the sacrifice-self/conformity side of the Spiral, which look to others for success, can, through their attributional style, contribute to Depression.