Depression: A Contemporary Introduction

This book serves as a practical and comprehensive introduction to depression and its deep roots in trauma.

Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber looks at the heterogeneous and complex phenomenon of depression and considers a range of topics essential to those faced with the challenge posed by the illness. Throughout the chapters, Leuzinger-Bohleber looks at the central experience of powerlessness and helplessness, the impact of trauma and transgenerational transmission, as well as clinical research and medical intervention. Throughout, she reviews and explains up-to-date clinical research findings and guides the reader on how to apply these in a clinical setting across a wide range of aspects within the psychodynamic understanding of depression.

Including a review of both classical psychoanalytic texts and state-of-the-art empirical research, this introductory book is an invaluable resource for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in private practice and Public Health institutions alike. The clear and accessible style also make it a vital resource for students of clinical psychology, medicine, anthropology, cultural studies, the educational sciences, and beyond.

Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber, MD, Dr. phil., is former professor for psychoanalysis at the University of Kassel and director of the Sigmund-Freud-Institut, Frankfurt a.M. She is currently senior research fellow at the University Medicine Mainz, training analyst of the German Psychoanalytical Association (DPV/IPA), was vice chair of the Research Board of the IPA (2010-2021), and current member and former chair of the IPA Subcommittee for Migration and Refugees. She received the Mary Sigourney Award 2016, the Haskell Norman Prize for Excellence in Psychoanalysis 2017, the Robert S. Wallerstein Fellowship (2022-2027) and the IPA’s Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, 2023