Systemic Couple Therapy and Depression

Eia Asen is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and a Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, and is clinical director of the Marlborough Family Service, London. Elsa Jones is a clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist. She worked at the Family Institute in Cardiff. In 1992 she started working independently as a psychotherapist, trainer and consultant in the UK and in numerous other countries. She has published many articles, chapters and books; a constant theme of these has been the domains of gender, feminism and power.

• New Foreword -- Series Editors' Foreword -- Foreword -- Introduction -- Overture -- The London Depression Intervention Trial: design and findings -- The therapy manual -- Working with depression, I -- Working with depression, II -- Themes and variations -- Finale

'The excitement surrounding the publication of this book stems from the fact that it is based upon a recent research project which demonstrated the effectiveness of systemic therapy. The news of Jones's and Asen's project and the subsequent results were greeted with great enthusiasm in the systemic/family therapy field. Their work was bold, innovative, and vital. When we heard the results of the study, many of us were asking the authors, "How did you do it?". and this book is their reply to that question.'- David Campbell and Ros Draper from their Editors' Foreword'This manual has two main purposes. It can act as the basis of a training program in systemic couple therapy, which we see as the next phase of the work on depression. It is also explicit about the range of techniques used and can therefore inform the next generation of research studies, which should have the aim of identifying the essential elements in this therapy that account for its efficacy. The research programme on schizophrenia took twenty years of continuous work before we began to train therapists to deliver the intervention. It is exciting to have reached this advanced stage in the research on depression, the future development of which will be greatly facilitated by this excellent book which represents the distilled experience of two highly skilled therapists.'- Professor Julian Leff, from his Introduction'This book created by Eia and Elsa provides many opportunities for a systemic therapist to reflect about many issues which are usually sources for discussions and controversy. This book, I believe, can be a stimulus to initiate similar research projects in similar situations in the vast field of mental healthcare in public services. Congratulations!'- Gianfranco Cecchin, from his Foreword