Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center Fundamentals of Mental Health, 2022 May-Jun http://jfmh.mums.ac.ir 145 Original Article Cognitive analysis of conceptual metaphors for depression from the perspective of clinical psychologists: A qualitative study *Fatteme Raiisi 1 ; Mina Riyassi 1 1 Ph.D. in cognitive science of language, Institute of Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran. Abstract Introduction: Depression is conceptualized by metaphors, according to this point, this study aimed to analyze some of the main cognitive metaphors for depression from the perspective of clinical psychologists. Materials and Methods: The method of this research was a qualitative-cognitive analysis study. In the first phase, the population of study was all the clinical psychologists who treat depressed patients in Tehran, Iran in 2021. Then, 30 clinical psychologists were selected by the purposive sampling method according to the theoretical saturation rule. Participants were asked to provide descriptions of depression that depressed patients gave them, which led to a rapid diagnosis of depression. Their conversation was recorded and collected by WhatsApp voice recording. In the second phase of this study, the population of 625 metaphorical phrases was obtained. According to the theoretical saturation rule, 200 phrases were selected purposively. Phrases and statements in which the depression and its symptoms were metaphorically expressed were manually separated and categorized. Results: The results of this study demonstrated that there were 7 important source domains for depression in Persian- speaking depressed patients. They are respectively included place, container, path, direction, object, human, taste, and color. Place, container, path, and direction are the most mapping for depression. Conclusion: According to the embodiment rule and like other abstract concepts, it seems that depression can be understood and conceptualized by cognitive metaphors. Keywords: Clinical psychologists, Cognitive analysis, Depression metaphors Please cite this paper as: Raiisi F, Riyassi M. Cognitive analysis of conceptual metaphors for depression from the perspective of clinical psychologists: A qualitative study. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health 2022 May-Jun; 24(3): 145-151. Introduction Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent emotions and feelings of sadness and loss of interest (1). The American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) classifies the depressive disorders into the disruptive mood, dysregulation disorder, major *Corresponding Author: Institute of Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran. elhamaraiisi@gmail.com Received: Nov. 27, 2021 Accepted: Mar. 12, 2022 depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and depressive disorder due to another medical condition (2). The main criteria of all types of depressive disorders are sadness, loss of energy, or agitated mood, with or without somatic and cognitive changes that significantly affect everyday life (3). According to the types of