Depression 101

by C. Emily Durbin PhD

Overview

ìThis latest installment in the Psych 101 series is a reader-friendly discussion of one of the most common mental health disorders -- depression. With the advent of the DSM-5, this book is not only timely, but it also provides a life-span approach to understanding depression.î--Doody's Medical Reviews

Depression, often referred to as the ìcommon cold of psychopathology,î is among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, yet it remains challenging to understand and treat. Depression 101 provides a reader-friendly overview of unipolar and bilpolar depression and provides the most current and intriguing scientific knowledge on this topic. Unique in its transdisciplinary and lifespan approaches to depression, the text explicitly integrates models of depression across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Depression 101 establishes an organizational framework for understanding the multiple pathways that can lead to depression. It describes the fundamental distinctions between unipolar and bipolar disorders, and provides a model for understanding of mood disorders on a continuum of severity. The text illuminates how such major psychology disciplines as clinical, developmental, evolutionary, personality, and behavioral neuroscience shed light on the causes, risk factors, and treatment options for the full spectrum of depressive disorders. Cultural and gender as variables are examined as is depression across the lifespan. Additionally the text clarifies common misconceptions about depression and mood disorders, and considers how the recently-released DSM-5 affects diagnostic practice.

Key Features:

• Provides an accessible reader-friendly overview of depression and related mood disorders
• Explores cutting edge research on psychology from across a wide range of psychological disciplines
• Takes a lifespan approach, viewing depression as it affects people at all ages of development
• Clarifies common misconceptions about depression and other mood disorders
• Reviews causes, risk factors, and treatment options for the full spectrum of depressive disorders
• Updated to reflect changes in diagnosis as provided in DSM-5

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826171078
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/06/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	666 KB

About the Author

Emily Durbin, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 What is depression?

Chapter 2 How does depression manifest?

Chapter 3 Who is likely to experience depression?

Chapter 4 How does depression affect functioning?

Chapter 5 Why does depression exist?

Chapter 6 What models help us to understand the causes of depression?

Chapter 7 What is the role of personality in depressive disorders?

Chapter 8 How do stress and the environmental context impact depression?

Chapter 9 What genes and biological systems are implicated in depression?

Chapter 10 How can depressive disorders be treated?

Chapter 11 Conclusions: How can we integrate our knowledge of depressive disorders to

improve our understanding and treatment of these conditions?

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM, FAAETS (C3 Education and Research, Inc.)
Description: This latest installment in the Psych 101 series is a reader-friendly discussion of one of the most common mental health disorders — depression. With the advent of the DSM-5, this book is not only timely, but it also provides a life-span approach to understanding depression.
Purpose: According to the author, the purpose is to provide a comprehensive overview of all aspects of unipolar and bipolar depressive disorders. The book covers the presentation, course, impact on functioning, etiology, and treatment. The author does a great job of incorporating the latest research and maintains an excellent balance of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of mood disorders.
Audience: This would serve as an excellent primer for graduate psychology students, psychiatry residents, and other disciplines in the field of mental health.
Features: As befits a book designed as a primer, it has a strong overview of depression that includes history, etiology, and diagnosis. It discusses the various causal models of depression, and readers will enjoy the well-balanced presentation of the biological, psychological, and social causal factors. The book reflects the latest changes in diagnosis as presented in DSM-5, which will be helpful to those new to the field. One shortcoming is the lack of up-to-date references and psychopharmacology information related to depression and bipolar disorder. It was surprising to see a reference dated 2001 for venlafaxine as an efficacious drug, since many clinicians widely accept this drug as part of the armamentarium for treating depression. Some clinicians may find this statement regarding psychopharmacology for bipolar disorder questionable: "Existing treatments are ineffective for treating depressive episodes among those with BD." A number of clinicians accept that treatment for bipolar disorder begins with a strong psychiatric evaluation as well as polypharmaceutical treatment. While Lithium is discussed, the book lacks an expanded discussion of antipsychotics and anticonvulsants. The section on psychopharmacology is akin to that of most introductory psychology textbooks, which provide superficial discussions with minimal relevant references. One would have expected a more thorough review of the literature that went beyond 2009.
Assessment: Overall, this is a good primer on depression and bipolar disorder for graduate students, but the section on psychopharmacology is inadequate.

Doody's Review Service