Description

This book integrates the spiritual practice of mindfulness with psychological techniques for changing negative thoughts and behaviours into a powerful and proven-effective program for coping with this serious and distressing condition.

In clinical trials, treatment approaches that incorporate spirituality with psychology have proven to be dramatically effective at countering depression.

The book is built around a compelling series of specific, step-by-step interventions that provide readers with an understanding of the thoughts that lead to depression. They learn how to find the motivation to confront depressive feelings. By sitting with painful emotions and allowing them to pass, readers find that they can reduce the frequency of depressive episodes. Using meditation practices for observation and awareness, they develop the ability to recognise cognitive, physiological, and environmental triggers that can lead to aggravated periods of the disorder. When readers change how they approach their day-to-day lives -- their daily activities, the choices they make, and the way they cope with life’s ups and downs -- they strengthen the skills they need to move beyond depression and develop lasting peace of mind.

About the Author

John McQuaid, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist specialising in the treatment of stress and depression.
Paula E. Carmona R.N., MSN, is a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego. She has been a student of Zen since the 1970's and has been practicing with Charlotte Joko Beck, author of Everyday Zen and Nothing Special, since 1984. She currently has a private psychotherapy practice in San Diego.