The present study examined the mediating effects of differentiation of self and the satisfaction ofbasic psychological needs on the link between perceived parenting styles and psychological distresswith data from 317 participants. The results showed that a hypothesized model produced a better fitto the data than a competitive structural model including no direct path between the differentiationof self and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. The analysis supported full mediationmodels whereby the differentiation of self and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs fullymediated the link between the mother's care and psychological distress, between the father's careand psychological distress, and between the father's overprotection and psychological distress.Overall, perceived parenting styles seem to protect people from depression and anxiety by fosteringthe differentiation of self and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Finally, the implicationsof the current findings for counseling practice and suggestions for future study were discussed.