Future Thinking and Psychopathology: A Review of Dysfunction, Intervention, and a Roadmap for Future Research

Imagining experiences that might occur in our personal future, i.e., future thinking, is a fundamental ability in healthy psychological functioning. Research over the last few decades indicates that a range of different psychopathologies are related to impairments and biases in future thinking. This includes changes in the content, valence, phenomenological characteristics, and the affective responses that arise from this process. This paper provides a narrative review of current evidence of dysfunction in future thinking in psychopathology, and interventions that focus on future thinking among people experiencing psychopathology. Lastly, it provides a range of suggestions for future research to further our understanding of when and how future thinking dysfunction occurs, how it perpetuates psychopathology, and how we can leverage future thinking to improve people’s mental health.