Main description:

More than forty years ago, Dr. Aaron T. Beck's pioneering Depression: Causes and Treatment presented the first comprehensive account of all aspects of depression and introduced cognitive therapy to health care providers and patients struggling with one of the most common and devastating diseases of the modern age. Since that classic text first appeared, the appreciation of the multifaceted nature of mood disorders has grown, and the phenomenological and biological aspects of psychology are increasingly seen as intertwined. Taking these developments into account, Beck and his colleague Brad A. Alford have written a second edition of Depression that will help patients and caregivers understand depression as a cognitive disorder.

The new edition of Depression builds on the original research and approach of the seminal first edition, including the tests of Freud's theory that led to a new system of psychological theory and therapy, one that addresses the negative schema and automatic thoughts that can trap people in painful emotional states. Beck and Alford examine selected scientific tests and randomized controlled trials that have enhanced the cognitive approach since the time it was first introduced.

Incorporating accepted changes in the definitions and categories of the various mood disorders into its discussion, Depression addresses the treatment role of revolutionary drugs, such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in relation to cognitive approaches. Beck and Alford explore research on neurotrophic and neurogenesis theories of depression. They also report on advances in psychosocial treatment of depression, including the value of cognitive therapy in the prevention of relapse.

Contents:

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the First Edition

PART I. CLINICAL ASPECTS OF DEPRESSION

Chapter 1. The Definition of Depression

Chapter 2. Symptomatology of Depression

Chapter 3. Course and Prognosis

Chapter 4. Classifying Mood Disorders

Chapter 5. Psychotic vs. Nonpsychotic Depression

Chapter 6. Bipolar Disorders

Chapter 7. Involutional Depression

Chapter 8. Schizoaffective Disorder

PART II. EXPERIMENTAL ASPECTS OF DEPRESSION

Chapter 9. Biological Studies of Depression

Chapter 10. Psychological Studies: Tests of Psychoanalysis

PART III THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF DEPRESSION

Chapter 11. Theories of Depression

Chapter 12. Cognition and Psychopathology

Chapter 13. Development of Depression

PART IV TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION

Chapter 14. Somatic Therapy

Chapter 15. Psychotherapy

Chapter 16. Evaluating Depression Treatments