Depression Doesn't Always Have to Be Depressing

Depression Doesn’t Always Have to Be Depressing is based primarily on the experiences Dr. James R. Holmes, PhD, shared with clients in the 45 years he served as therapist and coach for courageous people who have struggled with being depressed. It is also based on a framework of concepts known as Descriptive Psychology developed by Peter Ossorio and his colleagues. Descriptive Psychology helped him make sense out of how and why a person becomes depressed. He came to understand that, within the context of their lives, all depressed persons have good reasons to become depressed. Therefore, this book will help you make sense out of why you become depressed. It will help you understand how your actions and feelings, or more often the lack of them, make sense when you are depressed. It will also help you make the kinds of changes you need to make in order to find your way out of that pit.

Depression Doesn’t Always Have to Be Depressing is based primarily on the experiences Dr. James R. Holmes, PhD, shared with clients in the 45 years he served as therapist and coach for courageous people who have struggled with being depressed. It is also based on a framework of concepts known as Descriptive Psychology developed by Peter Ossorio, PhD, and his colleagues. Descriptive Psychology helped Dr. Holmes make sense out of how and why a person becomes depressed. He came to understand that, within the context of their lives, all depressed persons have good reasons to become depressed. If you recognize that you are depressed, you may not know how or why you became depressed. You probably have been told, and tend to believe, you are either weak or irrational or there is something wrong with your brain. In this book, Dr. Holmes, assures you that you have been, instead, courageous and effective in dealing with your life. He offers a way you can begin to view yourself and your life with greater respect and begin to move toward changing your place in the world. You can then join hundreds of Dr. Holmes’ clients who have said, “I make so much sense when you describe me and my life. For the first time ever, my whole life starts to make sense!”

James R. Holmes, PhD, worked for 45 years in psychotherapy. He was President of the Center for Behavior Potential, a company designed to help people increase their behavior possibilities through the resources offered by Descriptive Psychology. When he was doing psychotherapy, Dr. Holmes worked on the staff of a mental health center and a state hospital and, for many years, served as director of a university counseling center. For more than ten years, he shared a private practice with his wife and partner, a licensed mental health counselor.