Active Treatment of Depression [antikvár]

Introduction Introductions are written when books are completed. As I approach the end of this one, I suspect I understand one of the reasons why Freud never wrote his promised book on technique: It's a very difficult task. To propose rules about what to say when in psychotherapy can seem to be an exercise in either hubris or ignorance. How to respond to a given patient in a given hour depends on so many factors—tact and timing, the patient's diagnosis, the context of the relationship so far, short-term tactical needs vs. long-term strategic goals, the therapist's personality, the therapist's emotional reaction to the patient in the moment, and so on ad infinitum—that there are potentially thousands of "correct" or helpful interventions. In addition, one of the therapist's most powerful tools is his own unconscious; his associations to the patient's material can often advance the therapy even when he is uncertain exactly where they will lead. So it can seem like a forlorn hope to try to write a prescriptive book. But I am trying, despite all these caveats, because people with depression need a different approach to treatment than what standard practice is today. This is a book for mental health professionals who treat patients with depression. I am a therapist who suffers from depression myself. I have tried to write something that will be practical and helpful to therapists, physicians, and pharmacologists who are trying to help patients who do not respond quickly or easily to the standard prescribed treatments. Unfortunately, research is confirming that these are the majority of people suffering from depression. As I did the literature review for this book, I found myself more and more concerned that most care for depression is superficial, inadequate, and based on false information. Many assumptions commonly held in the professional community— that newer antidepressants are reliably safe and effective, that short-term cognitive and interpersonal psychotherapy help most patients, that many people with depression can be effectively treated in primary care, that most patients can recover from an episode of depression without lasting damage—on close examination turn out not to be true at all. And practice based on these