cognitive therapy and depression

The manual opens with a theoretical overview of cognitive therapy applications. Chapters present ten key principles of cognitive therapy with adolescents and techniques for assessing and diagnosing depression. Part II focuses on special issues that arise in the treatment of adolescents–developmental considerations, ways to create and sustain a therapeutic relationship, and how to involve the entire family in the adolescent’s treatment.

Part III describes the macrostages and microtechniques in cognitive therapy with chapters presenting an in-depth analysis of goal setting, intervention, and termination. Part IV discusses comorbidity and strategies for working with substance-abusing teenagers, survivors of sexual victimization, and suicidal adolescents. Although the emphasis of this manual is on outpatient treatment, brief periods of hospitalization are often part of the management of depressed adolescents, so one chapter in Part V is devoted to the use of cognitive techniques in the inpatient setting, and another describes general management issues and psychopharmacological treatment. Finally, the chapter considers therapeutic failures and obstacles one encounters when working with this population.

Providing guidelines and principles of cognitive therapy techniques for the treatment of depressed adolescents, this volume will be of value to psychotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors. These adapted techniques will also add to the repertoire of cognitive therapists who normally work with depressed adults but also encounter adolescents in their practice. Useful as a teaching text in courses that discuss new applications for cognitive therapy techniques, this book is also ideal supplemental reading in courses on psychology and psychotherapy.

There are hundreds of books that will try to help you overcome or put an end to depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them-approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new treatment plan for depression that will help you live a productive life by accepting your feelings instead of fruitlessly trying to avoid them.

The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Depression will show you, step-by-step, how to stop this cycle, feel more energized, and involve yourself in pleasurable and fulfilling activities that will help you work through, rather than avoid, aspects of your life that are depressing you. Use the techniques in this book to evaluate your own depression and create a personalized treatment plan. You’ll enrich your total life experience by focusing your energy not on fighting depression, but on living the life you want.

Includes a CD.

Grounded in ancient wisdom and the newest scientific evidence, this book provides a host of tools for those suffering from depression. Strosahl and Robinson invite us to take a wholly new view of what depression is, and how to deal skillfully with it through strategies born of acceptance and self-compassion. Their book shows the pathways into and out of depression and gives us a vital map to see clearly where genuine peace and freedom lie.
-Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology and Wellcome Principal Research Fellow at the University of Oxford

While the efficacy of cognitive therapy for depression is well established, every clinician is likely to encounter patients who do not respond to “standard” protocols. In this highly practical volume, leading authorities provide a unified set of clinical guidelines for conceptualizing, assessing, and treating challenging presentations of depression. Presented are detailed, flexible strategies for addressing severe, chronic, partially remitted, or recurrent depression, as well as psychiatric comorbidities, medical conditions, and family problems that may complicate treatment. The book also offers essential knowledge and tools for delivering competent care to specific populations of depressed patients: ethnic minorities; lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; adolescents; and older adults.