The Encyclopedia of Depression.
Roberta Roesch.
263 pp.
Facts on File, New York. 1991.
ISBN 0-8160-1936-3
Those who work in mental health areas know the vast scope of multidisciplinary information and resource material on depression. The Encyclopedia of Depression is quite remarkable, encompassing entries ranging from Dostoevski to Prozac and food to funerals. The book is very accessible and will appeal to interested individuals in the world’s oldest professions and youngest interest groups. For people suffering from mood disorders it provides useful basic information on treatment strategies such as diet, aerobic exercise, psychotherapy, drug therapy and electroconvulsive shock. There is good cross-referencing, and many of the entries have references for further exploration.
The book will be invaluable to members of the public who wish to know more about depression. As well, because of its scope, health professionals will find the book useful for themselves and for easily accessing important and interesting capsules of information for their patients and colleagues. In browsing through the entries I sensed that many of the occasional public requests for research information directed to clinics or research centre’s could be conveniently and effectively answered by referring the caller to such a text.
The book consists of items of information organized alphabetically, six appendices, a bibliography and an index. In addition to the main entries, appendices 5 (chemical and trade names of psychiatric drugs) and 6 (sources of information) will be useful to the general readership. Appendix 6 has addresses and, for most, telephone numbers of organizations. Canadian provincial and territorial agencies are widely covered. Health professionals will appreciate the data from the World Health Organization study on standardized assessment of depressive disorders (Appendix 1) and the epidemiology catchment area programs of the National Institute of Mental Health (Appendix 2).
Apart from their practical value, good encyclopedias like this are interesting for the sake of curiosity. Roesch’s collection of entries provides fuel for such an appetite with its inclusion of various morsels about historical figures who suffered from the mental aberrations of depressive illness. Further interesting entries include one on the Kahili people of New Guinea, who apparently deal with loss through the ritualized right to dance up and down and scream at a culpable neighbour! Laughter, light therapy and baby boomers, along with Nebuchadnezzar, are all to be found in these pages. The text is not exhaustive, but it is admirable for a first edition, and the author suggests that it is a work in progress.