Depression Books

I have purchased a number of CBT Guides to expand my repertoire of therapeutic activities in my practice and this one is excellent, when purchased with the companion workbook. The workbook has nice reproducables to use in sessions. The explanations of how to include the activities in your counseling sessions is very clearly written. I would recommend this product for psychologists working with elementary-aged students.

It will only take a few pages for you to feel like you are in the middle of a conversation with a beloved, livelong friend. The advice and suggestions are practical, easily achievable and produce eternal results. Read this book with the expectation you will be changed forever, you won't be disappointed.

In 1935 the Farm Security Administration launched an initiative to document the effects of the U.S. Government's agricultural policies. Under the leadership of Roy Stryker the project quickly developed a wider brief, that of producing a sociological portrait of American life. The "shooting scripts" for the original brief were explicit but the wealth of photographs documenting urban and rural life was more far-reaching. The FSA was dismantled when the U.S. became involved in World War II and in 1942-43 the project resided in the Office of War Information. There were 164,000 black and white photographs produced between the Depression and the end of the war, and 1,600 color photographs. Today the majority of this record is archived and catalogued on-line, and it's breathtaking.

TIMES OF SORROW & HOPE is a canvass of the FSA-OWI photographs from Pennsylvania. Of the 6,000 in the record, 150 are reproduced in this book by Allen Cohen and Ronald L. Filippelli. Wonderful as the photos are, the book is vastly enriched by the editorial material provided. The book opens with a history of the state that provides context, followed by some basic information about the FSA-OWI project for those unfamiliar with it. At the back of the book there is an introduction to the on-line catalog (parallel project to the book) and to the indexing by photographer and by location. The appendices provide detailed notes on the 150 photos in this book and summary biographies of the photographers whose work is included. Finally, the book closes with a resource and bibliography section.

And in the middle, the photographs, arranged in twelve sections covering the state's urban, rural and industrial characters. It would be impossible to convey the impact of these photos in words, but if you have the opportunity to study the book you will know that you're looking at your family album. Breathtaking. Iconic. Incredibly moving. A beautifully produced book.

Conceived with a utilitarian brief, the FSA-OWI project became so much more. Photographer Ansel Adams once said that the FSA photographers were "a bunch of sociologists with cameras" (pp. 29-30). I wonder whether the administrators and photographers realized the importance of what they were creating--and I wonder what history will honor as an equally perceptive characterization of our current decade

Linda Bulger, 2009

This is the sixteenth book of FSA photos devoted to a State that I've bought and I must say it is probably the best one from any criteria, photo selection, editorial content, design and printing. Though it only has 150 photos, a close second to this title would be 'Picturing Texas' (ISBN 0876111401) which has more than 200, it makes up for less visually by having such a comprehensive editorial content.

The photos are divided into twelve sections and this being Pennsylvania there are sections covering coal and steel production. Each page has a photo with a short caption centered below and if I have a criticism it would be that the images could have been just a bit bigger. It is the pages after the photos that make this book so interesting to me. There is an introduction to the Times of Sorrow & Hope on-line catalog (this includes the six thousand taken in Pennsylvania) followed by two indices, one of photographers and one of places. Next, Appendix A has excellent expanded captions and technical information about the 150 photos, Appendix B is a biography of the main photographers and lastly a Resources and Selected Bibliography. The bibliography is particularly impressive because it is so comprehensive and nicely includes books about individual photographers. I've not really commented on the actual photos, they are all extraordinary visual documents, as one would expect.

The book overall I found very impressive, the editorial and production could be a useful template for any State Historical Societies that want to publish images from the FSA files about their State, this is what your publication should aspire to.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

In this thought-provoking, easy to read book, Dr. Ang and Mr. Auer suggest some cultural and biochemical bases for depression; not the garden variety, mind you, but true suicidal depression. While most depressive patients can be helped by spiritual counseling, medications, and/or psychotherapy, a small percentage simply continue to see death as the only solution. Among these are some very spiritual people who want dearly to serve God and to please Him. This book explores some of the paradoxes involved in their stuggles, and treats depression with respect, rather than offering a sermon or a cure-all.

It was informative and very interesting. It's nice to know where to find realiable information.

I pick it up, I start leafing through it, and I can't put it down. I want to own all of these images in the originals. I like this book.

In 1939 Craven edited this astonishing accumulation of American prints and lithographs.

This was a middle-brow affair: quality reproductions of 100 prints from premier American artists on attractive, linen-like, buff paper in a spiral binding in slipcase. The book explains that the binding was designed to allow purchasers to easily detach prints and frame them.

(So, heads up, collectors -- many copies have missing prints. One of the oddities of the 1st edition is that, while the plates themselves total 100, the List of Plates index appears to stop at 99; the last plate is out of alphabetical order -- Good's "Valse Brillante.")

There's not an abstract print to be found here. Outside of that, it is difficult to generalize about this rich collection of images. They are excecuted in many styles. They contain a balance between portrait, landscape, but mostly depict Americans in utterly American environments: on the road, in their homes, in cities, in the land. This was produced at the end of the Great Depression, after all, and there is an heroic yet unfiltered eye directed to the American spirit in much of this work.

Here's how Craven puts it in his introduction. He maintains that now American art has become, well, American art -- "a decisive victory over provincial ignorance, anemic imitation, cheap internationalism, and the postwar hang-over of esthetic snobbery [1920's decadence?]."

The following artists have at least one plate in this book: Peggy Bacon, Thomas Benton, Aaron Bohrod, Alexander Brook, Andrew Butler, Howard Cook, John Curry, Adolf Dehn, Wanda Gag, George Grosz, Edward Hopper, Kuniyoshi, Reginald Marsh, Boardman Robinson, John Sloan, Harry Wickey, Grant Wood, and Mahonri Young.

Although written basically for psychiatrists and other clinicians, "The Treatment of Recurrent Depression," edited by John F. Greden, MD, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, is also beneficial to laymen interested in understanding depression and the various treatments available today.
The book actually consists of a series of chapters written by a variety of experts in the field, and includes such topics as: Advances in Brain Imaging; New and Integrated Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders; Recurrent Depression in Women; Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy Combinations; Prevention of Recurrences in Patients with Bi-Polar Disorder; and New Treatment Strategies.
Perhaps most interesting to the layman is Dr. Greden's introduction and his own included essay, "The Clinical Prevention of Recurrent Depression." In these he stresses the tremendous impact that recurrent depression has on our population. He issues the equivalent of a "call to arms," urging the need for a new paradigm for early detection, treatment and possible prevention.
As he says, "For success in stopping depression, we first must have success in improving detection." He stresses the need for early intervention and the development of tests to identify patients at risk for recurrences. He urges therapists to think long term, with maintenance treatments that are illness-focused, not episode focused. Most of all he urges the need for emphasizing adherence.
Patients, as well as family members and friends of patients, will benefit from this book. After reading it, they should realize there is a need to seek treatment for recurrent depression, to practice extended maintenance, and to approach recurrent depression as an on-going illness, just as one faces diabetes and heart disease.

This book questions the confines of temporality...it blurs the distinction between art, science, and life. It is a true signpost for the parallelism between existing genres and the net of cohesion that intertwines all aspects of being. Treatment of Tricyclic Resistant Depression has made my mind scale the high lights of understanding and reseat myself in the abyss of knowledge. It has showered me with units of belief with which I can chart the course of my future. There is no question, only an answer. It is this book.

Tree of Hope is a book about a girl named Florrie who grew up during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time when a lot of people were poor and many people lost the jobs they had. In the story Florrie's father once was an actor at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, New York. Now that the Depression has hit Florrie's father is without a job because people don't have money to go see the shows. The only thing her father has to remember about the good times at the theatre is a tree. In the book it is called The Tree of Hope. Her father tells her about the tree and then they wish on it, they wished times went back to the way they were.

Then a director Orson Welles plans to do a play at the Lafayette. Florrie thinks this has happened because of her and her father's wish. The only thing about it is that the play is MacBeth; MacBeth is a play about white people. People who knew that Florrie's father was auditioning for the play would say, "Shakespeare's a white man, we oughta only be doin' written `bout us. Them people (the white director's) at the Lafayette've come to Harlem just to laugh at us!" This statement seemed to get to Florrie's father but he said, "There will be plays written about us. This is Harlem's MacBeth-you'll see." To find out what else happens you will have to read the book.

The style of this poetry is unique to this author; the poems use few words to interpret vast feelings. While much poetry describes the writer's perception of things, this poet has an uncanny ability to actually illustrate, in verse, the intense feelings we all experience in life.