Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time - (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Michael Addis & Christopher R Martell (Paperback)

About the Book

This step-by-step workbook offers readers a radically new approach for overcoming depression that focuses on getting readers re-engaged with life and the world around them using 'behavior activation'--a fast-acting, effective, self-help therapy.

Book Synopsis

What if depression weren't a disorder occurring on its own but was rather a kind of signpost pointing at tangible things you needed to change in your life? This would radically alter not only the way you think about depression but also the strategies you'd use to overcome it.

Behavioral activation therapy is built on this powerful, insightful assumption. Its techniques offer fast, effective relief from depression by guiding you to make positive and rewarding changes in your life. This simple, profound process reconnects you to the naturally occurring rewards of a well-lived life, which are powerful antidotes to feelings of depression.

The workbook's engaging exercises create a structured framework in which you are encouraged to focus on those activities that will inspire you with feelings of pleasure, mastery, and engagement. Learn to develop a list of enjoyable activities or activities you need to engage in as a part of a normal and satisfying life. Begin with the easiest (or sometimes, the most indispensable) activities on your list, and learn how to tackle them one by one.

This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit -- an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Review Quotes

"Addis and Martell are on the cutting edge of research on psychological treatments for depression. Now they have adapted one of the most powerful new psychological treatments for depression into an easy-to-use and convenient workbook that will be of enormous benefit to both individuals suffering from depression and therapists conducting treatment. The authors are the first to make this program generally available to clinicians and the public and, in its straightforward easy to understand format, millions of people should benefit."
--David H. Barlow, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of clinical programs at Boston University