Depression: From Psychology to Brain State

Regarded as a classic when it was first published in 1984, Depression: From Psychology to Brain State provides historical insight into some of the origins of the evolutionary and biopsychosocial approaches behind compassion focused therapy. It highlights how the many textures of depressed brain states can be understood as a result of interacting with multiple biological psychological social processes. Consequently, to understand and treat depression required insight into the interactions between these processes. Hence, the book covers the controversies over diagnosis, and how different models such as psychodynamic, behavioural, and cognitive therapies conceptualise depression.

The last two integrative chapters address the brain’s evolved defences to threat such as helplessness, attachment loss and search defeat. These chapters also highlight and show how mental states are often discontinuous and state switches can be due to nonlinear processes. This reissue contains a new preface, written by the author, which reflects on more decent developments.