This book synthesizes complex information crucial for the understanding and treatment of depressive disorders. Depression is the most common mental illness worldwide. In 2017, WHO reported that depression was the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide with more than 300 million people living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015.

Time is of the essence for busy practitioners. Applying discoveries in epigenetics and psychobiology to clinical practice with precision and avoiding misinformation is a worthy but often daunting goal. It is this book’s mission to provide a concise and practical guide.

This volume begins with a discussion of the etiology of depression. Etiological considerations underpinning possible relationships between psychosocial variables and health include, but are not limited to, communication in the brain, molecular aspects, stress responses, heritability, and disease associated immune responses. Next, factors related to the ability to change behavior are considered. These include topics such as epigenetics, neuroplasticity, conditioning, therapygenetics, critical periods, and motivation. Then, evidence for efficacy of treatment approaches is presented. These include such interventions as pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, complementary interventions, and self-medication. Understanding and Treating Depressive Disorders is a concise and practical guide that will be of great value to students, psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral medicine specialists, residents and fellows in those fields, and any clinician that works with patients suffering from depression.

Jacob Raber 
Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine 
Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC 
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) 
Courtesy Professor, College of Pharmacy 
Oregon State University 

Franklin Sunzeri 
Consulting Research Immunologist 
Heather Hills Consulting 
Coos Bay, Oregon 

Jennifer M. Loftis 
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience 
VA Portland Health Care System 
Portland, Oregon 

John Wesson Ashford Jr. 
Clinical Professor 
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 
Stanford University 

Elizabeth Sunzeri 
Psychotherapist 
Heather Hills Therapy Center 
Coos Bay, Oregon 

Jeffery Sunzeri 
Sociologist 
Sunzeri Consulting 
Hollister, California