Breaking The Patterns Of Depression

Breaking the Patterns of Depression begins by translating the clinical literature on psychotherapy and antidepressant medication into language that can be used to enhance an understanding of depression, and to personalize individual cures. Yapko uses a conversational, anecdotal tone that encourages readers to take an active approach to helping themselves. Special sections entitled "Learn by Doing" and "Shifting Perspectives" help develop the skills necessary to manage difficult experiences. Readers learn how to solve problems effectively, anticipate the likely consequences of their actions, think and act in a direct, goal-oriented fashion, balance different areas of their lives, and use self-knowledge to stay out of harmful situations.

More realistic and helpful than other depression-management books on the market, Breaking the Patterns of Depression defines what causes depression and, best of all, clarifies what can be done about it. With this knowledge in hand, readers can control their depression, rather than having depression control them.

"...provides more than 100 activities to prevent depression from occuring and how to control it once it begins."

Twenty to thirty million Americans suffer from some form of diagnosable depression, and their ranks are growing. Psychologist Michael D. Yapko explains that in order to find relief, more than the current episode of depression must be examined. In Breaking the Patterns of Depression, he presents skills that enable readers to understand and ultimately avert depression's recurring cycles. Focusing on future prevention as well as initial treatment, the book includes over one hundred structured activities to help sufferers learn the skills necessary to become and remain depression-free.

Breaking the Patterns of Depression begins by translating the clinical literature on psychotherapy and antidepressant medication into language that can be used to enhance an understanding of depression, and to personalize individual cures. Yapko uses a conversational, anecdotal tone that encourages readers to take an active approach to helping themselves. Special sections entitled "Learn by Doing" and "Shifting Perspectives" help develop the skills necessary to manage difficult experiences. Readers learn how to solve problems effectively, anticipate the likely consequences of their actions, think and act in a direct, goal-oriented fashion, balance different areas of their lives, and use self-knowledge to stay out of harmful situations.

More realistic and helpful than other depression-management books on the market, Breaking the Patterns of Depression defines what causes depression and, best of all, clarifies what can be done about it. With this knowledge in hand, readers can control their depression, rather than having depression control them.

Publishers Weekly

In this carefully constructed self-help guide for those with mild to moderate depression, a clinical psychologist and family therapist in Southern California offers specific strategies for changing a negative, self-defeating attitude to an optimistic, hopeful view. Yapko sees depression not as a disease that must be treated with medicine but as a problem that can often be dealt with by learning to change existing patterns of thinking, feeling and behavior. Rather than dwelling on the patient's past experiences, he focuses on changing the present and thus shaping the future with a combination of cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal therapies. Discussions of case studies lead to "Pause and Reflect" exercises, which are augmented by "Learn by Doing" practices that require performance of some action. Yapko provides helpful summaries at the end of each chapter. His prose is clear and has a refreshingly low psychobabble quotient, and the tone is upbeat. A concluding chapter offers guidance on when and how to obtain professional help. (Feb.)

Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D. is the author of seven previous books on brief, directive psychotherapy. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Solana Beach, California, and is known nationally and internationally for his work on treating depression with active, brief therapy methods. Acknowledging his expertise, the Encyclopaedia Britannica commissioned Dr. Yapko to write sections on depression, clinical hypnosis, and the repressed memory controversy for their medical and health annuals. Dr. Yapko and his wife, Diane, enjoy traveling and hiking in their spare time.