ABSTRACT
There can be few adults that have not heard of depression and even fewer that have not experienced times when they have felt low in mood. Yet, despite its commonalty, depression is a phenomenon that defies simple definition. This is largely because it spans a continuum that ranges from a normal and transient response to events involving personal disappointment and loss, through to an abnormal mood disorder that may lack an obvious cause and which may require prolonged psychological or medical intervention (Davidson and Neale 1994). Similarly, the symptoms of depression can vary markedly, and range from a mild and transient state of ‘the blues’ to a persistent and disabling condition that pervades all aspects of the individual’s emotional, cognitive and behavioural functioning. This latter form is normally labelled clinical depression, and it is estimated that approximately twelve in every 100 people will experience at least one episode of depression during their life time that is serious enough to warrant this label and some form of professional help (Cromer 1996).
