Book Review: Healing Depression: Integrated Naturopathic and Conventional Treatments

By Editor

Posted September 17, 2014

In Book Reviews

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Medical Resources for NDs

A Review of Current Publications for the Naturopathic Industry

Stacie Deyglio, ND

Healing Depression: Integrated Naturopathic & Conventional Treatments (Professional Edition)

An estimated 19 million American adults today are living with major depression. This statistic does not include those younger than 18 years (tweens, teens, young adults, and children), who comprise an underserved population of Americans with this disorder.

Symptoms of depression may be described as feeling sad, miserable, unhappy, or “down in the dumps.” As humans, most of us may feel this way at some point or another, but the feelings last for short intervals. True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which these feelings of sadness, misery, loss, or frustration prolong for weeks or even longer. With major depression, everyday life is interfered with, and the impact of the disorder spans significantly into a patient’s family, personal relationships, school, work, sleeping, eating, and general health. According to the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, there is mounting evidence that depression is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (Kemp DE, et al. Cleve Clin J Med. 2003;70(9):745-6, 749-50, 752-4 passim). This risk factor has been shown to indicate a poorer prognosis in patients with cardiac disease. In reality, depression may be easily diagnosed and safely managed, but it is inadequately treated by most conventional practitioners.

Conventional medicine has succeeded with authority at prescribing pharmaceutical drugs for depression symptoms but is far from proficient at preventing this disorder or in addressing its causes. Fortunately, the principles of naturopathic medicine render naturopathic medical approaches to depression as notably effective and safe. Healing Depression, by Dr Peter Bongiorno, is a definitive guide for practitioners who desire a comprehensive overview of depression from the perspectives of cause to cure: “My aim is to help each practitioner who encounters a patient with depression to discover the multiple factors that may synergistically contribute to the progression of depressive disorder in order to systematically remove various ‘links in the chain’ that create this imprisoning disease” (p 18).

Dr Bongiorno created neither a typical book about diet nor an attempt to drive a new “quick fix” approach to this disease. Healing Depression takes an inceptive and encompassing look at depression from the naturopathic medical standpoint. Understanding what our bodies are trying to tell us is the first step in preventing depression and treating the underlying cause of it. The next step—acting on knowledge—teaches us more than we may even believe can be possible with this disorder. Healing Depression is a valuable academic text that provides thorough information about all aspects of the disorder, with particular mention of the underlying factors that contribute to depression. The book adeptly addresses how to properly diagnose the disease and how to safely and effectively treat it by applying fully referenced and evidence-based natural approaches.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Naturopathic Protocol for Treating Depression

Chapter 1 New Paradigm for Depression

Chapter 2 Short History of Depression

Chapter 3 Pathophysiology of Depression

Chapter 4 Clinical Assessment of Depression

Chapter 5 Conventional Treatments for Depression

Chapter 6 Naturopathic Treatments for Depression (Part I): Lifestyle Modifications

Chapter 7 Naturopathic Treatments for Depression (Part II): Clinical Nutrition

Chapter 8 Naturopathic Treatments for Depression (Part III): Botanical Medicine

Chapter 9 Naturopathic Treatments for Depression (Part IV): Specialized Modalities