Understanding and Treating Depressive Disorders

This book synthesizes complex information crucial for the understanding and treatment of depressive disorders. Depression is the most common mental illness worldwide. In 2017, WHO reported that depression was the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide with more than 300 million people living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015. Time is of the essence for busy practitioners. Applying discoveries in epigenetics and psychobiology to clinical practice with precision and avoiding misinformation is a worthy but often daunting goal. It is this book’s mission to provide a concise and practical guide. This volume begins with a discussion of the etiology of depression. Etiological considerations underpinning possible relationships between psychosocial variables and health include, but are not limited to, communication in the brain, molecular aspects, stress responses, heritability, and disease associated immune responses. Next, factors related to the ability to change behavior are considered. These include topics such as epigenetics, neuroplasticity, conditioning, therapygenetics, critical periods, and motivation. Then, evidence for efficacy of treatment approaches is presented. These include such interventions as pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, complementary interventions, and self-medication. Understanding and Treating Depressive Disorders is a concise and practical guide that will be of great value to students, psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral medicine specialists, residents and fellows in those fields, and any clinician that works with patients suffering from depression.