Overcoming Depression and Low Mood in Young People: A Five Areas Approach (Hodder Arnold Publication)

Overcoming Teenage Low Mood and Depression uses the trusted Five Areas model of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help young people experiencing low mood or depression to help themselves. The Five Areas model communicates life skills and key interventions in a clear, pragmatic, and accessible style, by examining five important aspects of our lives:Life situation, relationships, resources, and problemsAltered thinkingAltered feelings or moodsAltered physical symptoms or sensationsAltered behaviour or activity levels This exciting collection of practical and effective self-help workbooks has been developed in liaison with a team of experts working with young people. The course provides access to the proven CBT approach, and addresses all the common challenges faced during times of low mood, helping the reader make positive changes in their life in a planned and achievable way. A final workbook aimed at friends and relatives describes how to offer support. The workbooks also provide an invaluable resource for school teachers, counsellors, general practitioners, nursing staff, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, youth workers, self-help groups, and other voluntary-sector organisations. A linked and completely free online support course is located at www.livinglifetothefull.com, with additional resources at www.fiveareas.com.

Overcoming Teenage Low Mood and Depression uses the trusted Five Areas model of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help young people experiencing low mood or depression to help themselves. The Five Areas model communicates life skills and key interventions in a clear, pragmatic, and accessible style, by examining five important aspects of our lives:
Life situation, relationships, resources, and problems Altered thinking Altered feelings or moods Altered physical symptoms or sensations Altered behaviour or activity levels

This exciting collection of practical and effective self-help workbooks has been developed in liaison with a team of experts working with young people. The course provides access to the proven CBT approach, and addresses all the common challenges faced during times of low mood, helping the reader make positive changes in their life in a planned and achievable way. A final workbook aimed at friends and relatives describes how to offer support.

The workbooks also provide an invaluable resource for school teachers, counsellors, general practitioners, nursing staff, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, youth workers, self-help groups, and other voluntary-sector organisations.

A linked and completely free online support course is located at www.livinglifetothefull.com, with additional resources at www.fiveareas.com.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Robin Shapiro, MD(Rush University Medical Center)
Description:This is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based self-help workbook for young people with depression.
Purpose:The purpose is to provide a workbook to help youngsters with depression help themselves.
Audience:In addition to youngsters with low mood and depression, the book is also meant for relatives and friends who are their support.
Features:The first part of the book is intended to help individuals understand why they feel the way they do and the second part is focused on change. The chapters help individuals link people and events and thinking to feelings, identify unhelpful thinking and how it affects feelings, and ways to change to feel good. The chapters also cover problems such as sleep, alcohol and drug use, and medications. The last part, aimed at friends and families, discusses how they can support the person seeking treatment. The book provides some links to external resources and web sites, but only in the U.K. There are some nice workbook charts and checklists that can stimulate thinking and change, and provide structure to help develop coping skills.
Assessment:This is, overall, a nice book, but I would only recommend it in conjunction with seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist on a frequent basis and after a child has had a full psychiatric evaluation. The authors address topics such as alcohol and drug use and antidepressants that should be assessed at an individual level by a skilled clinician. The authors also provide information on antidepressants that is not complete and, most importantly, they do not address the black box warning of suicidality. I would recommend this book as an adjunct to therapy for a patient who needs concrete techniques or for a family who wants to work on change outside of the therapy sessions.