Peaceful Mind: Using Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Psychology to Overcome Depression

Recent reports indicate that depression is the most common psychological disorder in the US, affecting as many as 17 million Americans. This book integrates the spiritual practice of mindfulness with psychological techniques for changing negative thoughts and behaviors into a powerful and proven-effective program for coping with this serious and distressing condition.

Current statistics suggest that as many as 17 million Americans suffer from depression; further research states that less than 25 percent of these receive adequate treatment for the disorder. In clinical trials, treatment approaches that incorporate spirituality with psychology have proven to be dramatically effective at countering depression. This book is co-written by a leading specialist in the treatment of depression and a clinical nurse who, as a Zen practitioner trained with Charlotte Joko Beck and Jon Kabat-Zinn.

A concept grounded in the practice of certain forms of Buddhism, mindfulness is the conscious, uninvolved awareness of the present moment. Western psychologists have recently learned that this state of mind is particularly conducive to the accomplishment of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT: an active mode of psychological treatment that attempts to recognize and counter negative thoughts and behaviors before they lead to debilitating symptoms like depression. As statistics confirm again and again that depression is the single most common psychological problem affecting Americans, the refinement of psychotherapy through the integration of spirituality-based techniques has generated considerable interest among psychology professionals. This approachable and easy-to-use book makes these powerful techniques available to the general public.

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, you will find that you can reduce the frequency of depressive episodes. Using meditation practices for observation and awareness, develop the ability to recognize cognitive, physiological, and environmental triggers that can lead to aggravated periods of the disorder. When you change how you approach your day-to-day life, your daily activities, the choices you make, and the way you cope with life's ups and downs you strengthen the skills you need to move beyond depression and develop lasting peace of mind.

Paula E. Carmona RN, MSN, is a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego, CA. She graduated from Yale University with a Masters of Science in Psychiatric Nursing in 1986. She trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn and implemented a mindfulness-based stress reduction program at the VA 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.

John McQuaid, PhD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of stress and depression. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1995, he joined the University of California, San Diego, Psychiatry Department and became a staff psychologist at the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System. He is currently associate professor of clinical psychiatry at UCSD, and director of the Cognitive and Behavioral Interventions Program at the VA in San Diego, CA.

Zindel V. Segal, PhD, is professor of psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is coauthor of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression and The Mindful Way through Depression.