Psychotherapy Essentials to Go: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression

A quick-reference, multi-media guide to using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat depression.

A widely researched protocol for treating major depressive disorder, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps clients feel better and cope more effectively by teaching them essential skills to become their own therapists. This guide explains the basic cognitive model, the therapeutic stance, and some of the most important cognitive and behavioral interventions for depression, equipping clinicians with all the key information they need to begin treatment. Core strategies covered include how to nurture the therapeutic rapport, focusing on the “here and now”, goal-setting, and behavioral activation techniques such as activity monitoring, the thought record, and behavioral experiments. An invaluable overview of techniques to challenge clients’ negative automatic thoughts and depressive behaviors in order to promote immediate and durable change.

Included in this comprehensive guide are a DVD of sample therapy sessions and clinical explication that describe how to implement the protocol, as well as a laminated pocket reminder card. An on-the-go package of practical tools that busy clinicians won’t want to be without.

Mark Fefergrad, MD, MEd, is Assistant Professor and the Director of Postgraduate Education in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is a leader in post-graduate CBT education and has practiced and taught CBT extensively.

Ari Zaretsky MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, has extensive experience in CBT treatment, teaching, and supervision.

Robert Maunder, MD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and head of research for Mount Sinai Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry. His primary research interest is the role of interpersonal attachment on health.

Paula Ravitz, MD, is Associate Professor, Morgan Firestone Psychotherapy Chair, and Associate Director of the Psychotherapy, Health Humanities, and Education Scholarship Division for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, where she leads IPT training. She is also the director of the Mt. Sinai Psychotherapy Institute. Her clinical practice, teaching, and research focus on IPT and attachment informed psychotherapy.