Treating Chronic Depression with Disciplined Personal Involvement

"McCullough's Treating Chronic Depression With Disciplined Personal Involvement is a breath of fresh air. It is edgy, innovative, gutsy, and engaging.  McCullough places his therapeutic approach in context by comparing it with other therapies, making his book both scholarly and absorbing. He presents a high-risk–high-gain approach for chronically depressed patients, an extremely difficult group with which to work. The volume contains extensive and intense patient–therapist dialogue. This dialogue provokes tension, anxiety, and self-reflection in the reader and is extremely useful for conveying a feel for this approach. Congratulations to McCullough on this remarkable work.  He has made an extremely important contribution to both the treatment of chronic depression and the larger literature on the curative power of the therapist–patient relationship."

-Laurence P. Riso, PsycCRITIQUES, Contemporary Psychotherapy - APA Review of Books, Volume 52, Issue 33

"Dr. McCullough’s incredible insights led him to develop a unique form of psychotherapy for chronic depression that has a staggering rate of success, as reported in the NEJM, 2000. World-wide application of this therapy, based upon his remarkable text, The Treatment for Chronic Depression, Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP), is comparable to Fleming’s discovery of Penicillin. This newest text, Treating Chronic Depression with Disciplined Personal Involvement, is a major contribution to the scientific refinement of therapy and is applicable, in my judgment, to virtually all who committed to understanding and relieving the unspeakable suffering of depression."

- Robert S. Brown, Sr., M.D., Ph.D.,Clinical Professor of Psychiatric Medicine, School of Medicine,University of Virginia, Richmond, VA, USA

"Combining a series of deftly interwoven case examples and written commentary, Dr. McCullough provides a clear indication of the major methods of CBASP in this volume. His passion for patients with chronic depression comes through clearly in these pages, as does the desire to integrate theory and research in the further development of this approach to treating this mental health problem. This volume will undoubtedly go a long distance to making CBASP better known and used in helping patients with chronic depression."

- Keith S. Dobson, Ph.D., President-elect, International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

"Sixty years of empirical research on the therapeutic bond has shown that the patient-therapist relationship is of fundamental importance, but the theories and applications have tended to be overly general and vague. In his revolutionary new book, Professor McCullough has filled the void and the practice of psychotherapy, thankfully, will never be the same. With firm historical precedent, straightforward theory and engaging constructs, and a wealth of detailed and intriguing case histories followed by sage clinical commentary, this work is both a call to arms and a detailed training manual for a new (and better) generation of psychotherapists."

- Kent Bailey, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

"McCullough is a pioneer in the psychotherapy of chronic depression. The techniques outlined in this volume are truly innovative and thoughtful and he brings obvious passion and compassion to the therapeutic endeavor. I am touched by his wisdom and dedication and highly recommend this book."

-James H. Kocsis, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry,Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA