Overview

What is depression really? A psychological disorder? An emotional problem? A spiritual weakness? A medical condition? People struggling with depression are often given simplistic answers, which can lead to fear of seeking help, and even a sense that they have personally failed in some way. With compassion developed from their personal and clinical experience as psychiatrists, the authors tackle the complexities of depression from a multi-disciplinary approach. In this thoughtful and practical guide, they weave together Scripture with science, theology with cutting edge scientific research, and the stories of many Christians who have suffered, to help those with depression to find healing. For Christians, hope for depression lies in a deep understanding of both what it means to inhabit broken bodies in a fallen world, and the hope we have in the gospel. By fully grasping the implications of both for our bodies, minds, and souls, can we learn what it means to walk by faith even through the dark valley of depression.

Full Product Details

9781734496826

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""People often ask, 'if I am a Christian, then why am I depressed?' It's a more common question than you'd think, but given today's stress and upheaval in health and the economy, even stalwart followers of Jesus are struggling against depression. It's why I'm thrilled that my friends at CMDA have published this timely book called Downcast. This is a unique read given that it covers not only the medical issues surrounding chronic discouragement, but it offers biblical help and practical hope. I highly recommend this remarkable work for the people you know who fight against clouds of depression!"" - Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center ""Downcast: Biblical and Medical Hope for Depression is a clear, comprehensive, and above all, compassionate exploration of depression, its causes, effects, and possible treatments. Doctors Harris, Koenig and Peteet have done a masterful job of demystifying depression, recognizing the suffering it brings without relying on simplistic, trite, or stale solutions that leave a sufferer feeling alone in their pain. Those who live with depression and those who love someone with depression will find it incredibly helpful and encouraging."" - Kay Warren, Co-founder, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA ""An amazing work - a gift to those who battle with depression and to those who help."" - Tim Clinton, President of the American Association of Christian Counselors"

Author Information

Dr. Jennifer Huang Harris is a board certified outpatient psychiatrist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. After graduating from Stanford University, she studied how Christianity informs psychiatry in a post-graduate fellowship with the Trinity Forum Academy. She subsequently earned her medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern and was trained in psychiatry at both the University of Texas Southwestern and Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. She has written and taught on the subjects of trauma, spirituality, cross-cultural issues, psychiatric nosology and ethics, psychotherapy and medical education. She lives in Boston with her husband and three children. Dr. Koenig completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, medical school at the University of California San Francisco and geriatric medicine, psychiatry and biostatistics training (MHSc) at Duke University. He is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke, and he is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the School of Public Health at Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China. He directs Duke University's Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health (https: //spiritualityandhealth. duke.edu/) and has done so since its origins in 1998. Dr. Koenig has written more than 500 scientific peer-reviewed academic publications, nearly 100 book chapters and more than 50 books. He has also given testimony before the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the current White House Administration on the health benefits of religious faith. In 2012, he received the Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association, and he is the lead author of the Handbook of Religion and Health, 3rd edition (2021, forthcoming, with Harvard University professors Tyler VanderWeele and John R. Peteet). After receiving his medical degree at Columbia University, Dr. Peteet completed a medical internship at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, a residency in psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and a fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. For more than 40 years, he has been a psychiatrist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and 2020 recipient of the Oskar Pfister Award, he has received several teaching awards and published numerous papers in the areas of psychosocial oncology, addiction and the clinical interface between spirituality/religion and psychiatry. He has authored or co-edited nine books, including Doing the Right Thing: An Approach to Moral Issues in Mental Health Treatment, Depression and the Soul and The Soul of Medicine: Spiritual Perspectives and Clinical Practice. He has served as president of the American Psychiatric Association's Caucus on Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry.

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