In a thought-provoking volume, the author critiques how the human condition has been monetized into the disease of depression and related “disorders” and offers a powerful new approach that updates the best ideas of modern psychology. Original.

This volume presents work at the interface of feminist theory and mental health. The editors a stellar array of contributors to continue the vital process of feminist theory building and critique.

Diagnoses of depressive and bipolar disorders have reached epidemic proportions. The current psychiatric theories, approaches, and suggested remedies have together failed to resolve these human struggles despite technological advances and continued claims of validity and reliability. In fact, since its introduction in the early 1960s, the current humanistic paradigm has worsened both individuals and society as a whole. Suicidal ideation and completions are also rapidly increasing within the church and even among church leadership. There clearly exists an urgent need to rethink the widespread human struggle known today as depression. In this book, Dr. Berger proposes from both Scripture and scientific evidence that the root of our mental struggles lies in our metaphysical souls rather than in our physical bodies. As the reader will discover, the solution is not to endlessly invent new theories and alleged physical remedies that inevitably fail, but to return to understanding humanity's true nature as God declares it to be from the beginning of time. Only by realizing and accepting this important perspective does our own human fragility and depravity begin to make sense. At the same time, this is not a book that suggests that those who struggle should simply pray and read their Bible more and that all of their problems will vanish. Rather, the book offers proven and practical answers to important questions.Rethinking Depression invites the Christian who seeks answers and desires to help others struggling or diagnosed within the psychiatric system to re-examine the current ways of understanding and treating depression and to consider the gracious perspective that in all of our mental suffering, sorrow, and hopelessness-no matter how severe, we are not abnormal or different from one another at our core. In truth, what we all desperately need is sure hope and genuine healing for our souls that is only found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This book reviews all aspects of major depressive disorder (MDD), casting light on its neurobiological underpinnings and describing the most recent advances in management. The book is divided into four sections, the first of which discusses MDD from a network science perspective, highlighting the alterations in functional and structural connectivity and presenting insights achieved through resting state functional MRI and the development of neuroimaging-based biomarkers. The second section examines important diagnostic and neurobiological issues, while the third considers the currently available specific treatments for MDD, including biofeedback, neurofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, neuromodulation therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and complementary and alternative medicine. A concluding section is devoted to promising emerging treatments, from novel psychopharmacological therapies through to virtual reality treatment, immunotherapy, biomarker-guided tailored therapy, and more. Written by leading experts from across the world, the book will be an excellent source of information for both researchers and practitioners.

In Abolishing the Concept of Mental Illness: Rethinking the Nature of Our Woes, Richard Hallam takes aim at the very concept of mental illness, and explores new ways of thinking about and responding to psychological distress. Though the concept of mental illness has infiltrated everyday language, academic research, and public policy-making, there is very little evidence that woes are caused by somatic dysfunction. This timely book rebuts arguments put forward to defend the illness myth and traces historical sources of the mind/body debate. The author presents a balanced overview of the past utility and current disadvantages of employing a medical illness metaphor against the backdrop of current UK clinical practice. Insightful and easy to read, Abolishing the Concept of Mental Illness will appeal to all professionals and academics working in clinical psychology, as well as psychotherapists and other mental health practitioners.

Anxiety is real—but it isn’t the end of your story. Dr. John Delony knows what anxiety feels like. He’s walked that dark road himself, but he found light and hope on the other side of it. Bringing together his own journey and two decades of counseling and research, he walks you through: The four biggest myths about anxiety and the life-changing truth Practical steps you can take today to start getting your life back Long-term strategies for healing to help you move forward John will show you that most of what you’ve heard about anxiety is wrong. Things like: If you have anxiety, you’re broken and need to be fixed Anxiety is a disease that can only be cured with medicine Anxiety is caused by your genetics While mental health is complex, our culture has made anxiety into something it’s not. For the majority of people who face anxiety, the truth is simpler than we think: anxiety is an alarm. It’s a signal—nothing more and nothing less. Anxiety is simply our body’s way of telling us something is wrong. If we stop and listen, we can calm the alarm and move forward into healing and hope.

The worldwide Great Depression of the 1930s was the most traumatic event of the twentieth century. It ushered in substantial expansions in the role of governments around the world, focused attention on social insurance, and for a time bolstered socialist economic ideas as a form of cure. Skepticism about the effectiveness of government withered as the free market failed, and it seems safe to say that Keynesian economics would not have flourished if the depression had not occurred. While this severe contraction has been extensively examined, we are just now—thanks to increasingly sophisticated analytical techniques—beginning to comprehend its causes and the reasons for the extremely slow recovery that occurred in the United States. Much of this analysis, though, remains in specialized studies that are visited mainly by economists and economic historians. In Rethinking the Great Depression, Gene Smiley draws upon this recent scholarship to present a clear and nontechnical analysis for the general reader. He explains the roots of the depression in the 1920s, the efforts of the New Deal to combat the economic crisis, and the legacy of these efforts in World War II and the postwar years. He offers new insights and some surprising conclusions: that the causes of the Great Depression lay in the dislocations caused by World War I and the attempt to reconstitute an international gold standard in the 1920s; that the New Deal, regardless of its good intentions, adopted misguided fiscal and monetary policies that prolonged the depression in the United States beyond what it should have been; that World War II, rather than stimulating an end to the depression, actually postponed a full recovery until 1946.