National Alliance on Mental Illness
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©2013
The Depression Sourcebook
By Brian P. Quinn, C.S.W., Ph.D.
Reviewed by members of NAMI's Literature CommitteeThe Depression Sourcebook by Brian Quinn provides a good addition to the libraries of consumers and their families. Dr. Quinn covers a wide range of topics relevant to depression, including dysthymia, cyclothymia, bipolar, child and adolescent, other associated psychiatric disorders, mood disorders and marriage, psychotherapy, medications and natural treatments, self-help, and diagnosis. This book is well written and provides useful information to readers on the various faces of depression and mood disorders. The author uses short descriptions of well known individuals—Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Princess Diana, and others—to help illustrate the faces of mood disorders and the reality that people of all levels of intelligence, talent, and social position may be confronted with a mental illness.
Dr. Quinn’s book is an ambitious undertaking with its wide range of topics. For that reason, it provides a useful introduction that readers may want to follow up on by reading other material to obtain greater information on specific areas of interest. This book can begin the education process or advance it so readers can approach their illness (or their family member’s illness) with knowledge contributing to better understanding of mood disorders and a better position in which to ask the right questions of treatment professionals.