Overcoming Depression (Second Edition): Therapist Guide

Depression is the most common mental health population in the general population (Kessler et al., 1994). It is estimated that around 11% of individuals will experience depression at some point in their lifetime (Lim et al., 2018). Symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or guilt; loss of interest in activities; reduced energy; changes in sleep or appetite; and thoughts of suicide or death. Overcoming Depression is a comprehensive program which assists clinicians in delivering effective CBT for depression. The program includes two books:

• Overcoming Depression – A Cognitive Therapy Approach: Therapist Guide details the step-by-step cognitive therapy treatment of depression.
• Overcoming Depression – A Cognitive Therapy Approach: Workbook is the companion to this therapist guide. It will help your patients to become active participants in their treatment and learn how to address the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and life events that affect their mood.

About Treatments That Work™

Authored by leading psychologists including David

Each Treatments That Work® title is published in two volumes:

• Clients use the Workbooks which contain elements of psychoeducation, skills development, self-assessment quizzes, homework exercises, and record forms.
• Therapists use the Therapist Guides which contain step-by-step instructions for teaching clients’ skills, overcoming common difficulties.

Although written for the client, the exercises in the workbook are intended to be carried out under the supervision of a mental health professional. The authors suggest that the most effective implementation of these exercises requires an understanding of the principles underlying the different procedures, and that mental health professionals should be familiar with both the Overcoming Depression – A Cognitive Therapy Approach: Workbook as well as this therapist guide. 

Therapists with an active subscription to a Psychology Tools ‘Complete’ plan are licensed to use Treatments That Work® titles, and to download and share chapters with their clients.

• American Psychological Association. (2019). Clinical practice guideline for the treatment of depression across three age cohorts: American Psychological Association guideline development panel for the treatment of depressive disorders. https://www.apa.org/ depression-guideline/guideline.pdf.
• Cuijpers, P. (2017). Four decades of outcome research on psychotherapies for adult depression: An overview of a series of meta-analyses. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne, 58, 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000096.
• Cuijpers, P., Noma, H., Karyotaki, E., Cipriani, A., & Furukawa, T. A. (2019). Effectiveness and acceptability of cognitive behavior therapy delivery formats in adults with depression: a network meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 76, 700-707. DOI:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0268.
• Kessler, R. C., McGonagle, K. A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C. B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., ... & Kendler, K. S. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8-19. DOI:10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950010008002.
• Lim, G. Y., Tam, W. W., Lu, Y., Ho, C. S., Zhang, M. W., & Ho,