Overcoming Depression: A Cognitive Therapy Approach for Taming the Depression BEAST [Paperback]

Gilson Freeman (Author), Arthur Freeman (Editor), Mark Gilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1999

The client workbook is based on empirically-supported principles recommended in practice guidelines for the treatment of depression. It can also be used as a comprehensive reference guide for those wanting to explore the possibility of seeking therapy for depression. The workbook combines thorough explanations of how depression occurs and is maintained, ways to identify symptoms, exercises to use in combating depression, and hopeful cases of individuals who have struggled, and overcome, their depression.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Gilson received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University. He is a fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Gilson was a postdoctoral fellow at the world-renowned Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with Aaron T. Beck, MD. He was later a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gilson then moved to Atlanta and founded the Atlanta Center for Cognitive Therapy (ACCT). He has directed the training and certification program at ACCT for the past 14 years. Dr. Gilson is an adjunct faculty member with both the Emory University Department of Psychiatry and the Georgia State University Department of Psychology. In November 1996, he was appointed coordinator of academic and professional issues for the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. He continues to be active in contributing to the professional literature and publishing professional journal articles and book chapters. Arthur Freeman, Ed.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology and director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is also professor in the core doctoral faculty and director of the cognitive therapy program at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago. In addition to many book chapters, reviews, and journal articles, Dr. Freeman has published 16 professional books, including Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders (with Aaron T. Beck), Clinical Applications of Cognitive Therapy, and Comprehensive Casebook of Cognitive Therapy (with Frank Dattilio). Dr. Freeman has also published two self-help books, Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: Overcoming Regrets, Mistakes and Missed Opportunities (with Rose DeWolf) and The Ten Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make and How to Avoid Them: Simple and Sure Techniques for Gaining Greater Control of Your Life (with Rose DeWolf). His published works have been translated into Chinese, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. Dr. Freeman serves on the editorial boards of several U.S. and international journals. He continues to be one of the most in-demand lecturers and public presenters on the national and international training circuit. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company; 1 edition (April 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0158131681
• ISBN-13: 978-0158131689
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,885,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkably fine book for anyone suffering from depression., May 5, 1999

By 

Albert Ellis, Ph.D. ([e-mail]) (New York, NY Albert Ellis Institute) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming Depression: A Cognitive Therapy Approach for Taming the Depression BEAST (Paperback)

Taming the Depression BEAST is a remarkably fine workbook for almost anyone suffering from sporadic or chronic depression. It succinctly and clearly provides many cognitive-behavioral methods and people experiencing depression can promptly put to good use. I highly recommend it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I plan to own multiple copies for use with my clients., May 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Overcoming Depression: A Cognitive Therapy Approach for Taming the Depression BEAST (Paperback)

Review by Kenneth B. Matheny, Ph.D., ABPP, Regents Professor and Co-director, Counseling Psychology Program, Georgia State University. Phone [phone], FAX [phone]

Overcoming Depression is an expertly fashioned manual for clients suffering from depression, dysphoria, or sub-clinical mood disorders. Mark Gilson, founder and director of the Atlanta Center for Cognitive Therapy, and Arthur Freeman, chair of the Department of Psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, bring their considerable expertise to bear on the treatment of depression. Both authors have made major contributions to the cognitive therapy literature in the past, and their current volume promises to give hope to clients who have had the sunlight in their lives dimmed by the heavy clouds of depression. Readers are taught that there are specific reasons for their low mood states that can be identified and changed through concerted effort.

This volume, like David Burns' Feeling Good Handbook, guides the reader through a series of self-examinations that are critical to the understanding and treatment of mood disorders. Although the clear conceptualization and the highly readable nature of the writing allow the work to be used as a stand-alone self-help manual, the authors encourage readers to seek the professional assistance of therapists. In addition to championing the use of cognitive therapy for the treatment of depression, the authors also present responsibly the merit of psychopharmacology as an adjunctive treatment. The book is replete with practical examples that clearly demonstrate the recommended treatments are simply and elegantly offered. To audit the reader's mastery of the content, brief review quizzes are presented at the end of each chapter.

The theoretical background for the volume is drawn from the cognitive therapies of Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis. Gilson and Freeman acknowledge the multifaceted nature of the causes of mood disorders and suggest a holistic approach to its treatment. The acronym BEAST, is used to explain the components of the approach: B is for body; E is for emotion; A is for action to be taken; S is for stressful situations; and T is for thoughts. The primary focus is placed on aspects of wellness such as nutrition and exercise (the B for body) and thinking (the T for thoughts).

The authors discuss three factors involved in creating and sustaining depression: The Cognitive Triad, cognitive distortions, and self-sabotaging schemas and assumptions. The cognitive triad refers to negative views about oneself, the world, and the future. Cognitive distortions refer to the self-defeating response sets or perceptual sieves that are not validated by others. And schemas are described as hierarchically arranged, coordinated sets of abstract ideas about self, the world, and relationships. These schemas are said to underlie and maintain one's belief system and automatic thoughts. The meaning of schemas is decidedly less distinct than the meaning of cognitive distortions or cognitive triad, but the concept seems to be used in a manner similar to the way in which Piaget used the term, to the manner in which Bandura used the concept of "rule governed behavior," and to the manner in which social psychologists use the term, attributional style. Such schemas are said to be formed in early life and can be up-dated through the process of accommodation, Piaget's concept for the learning, through experience, of new mental templates of the world. This concept of schemas appears to interface nicely with the use of unconscious dynamics by analytic therapists.

This volume should prove especially helpful to cognitive therapists in their efforts to correct the irrational beliefs and distorted perceptual processes of clients. The reading of selected portions of the volume from week to week would likely prepare the client to profit more fully from the content of therapy sessions. Clients who dutifully complete the thought monitoring exercises will greatly assist their therapists in understanding the faulty beliefs, cognitive distortions, and underlying schemas that are responsible for their depression. Moreover, it seems to me that these exercises, so appropriately prescribed for uncovering the hurtful content of the client's thinking, could be complemented by the mindfulness exercises of the consciousness disciplines and the use of awareness continuum by Gestalt therapists.

I salute Drs. Gilson and Freeman for adding another powerful tool to our repertoire of aids for clients suffering from depression, dysphoria, or undiagnosed mood disorders. I plan to own multiple copies for use in prescribing home expansion exercises for my clients.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A high mark for presenting therapy in an accessible manner., May 5, 1999

By 

Aaron T. Beck, M.D. ([e-mail]) (The Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, Bala Cynwyd, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming Depression: A Cognitive Therapy Approach for Taming the Depression BEAST (Paperback)

This new patient treatment manual sets a high mark for presenting therapy in a clear and accessible manner to patients. It contatins the fundementals of treatment and self-help for the depressed individual in a readable and engaging format. The concept of BEAST (Biology, Emotion, Affect, Situation, and Thinking) allows for an easy conceptualization of the components of mood and at the same time is whimiscal and intriguing. It strikes just the right balance, and I believe it is a refined contribution to the psychotherapist's tool kit for providing empirically supported treatment that helps people improve their mood and function better in their lives.