ABSTRACT
The focus of Chapter 3, “The Etiology of the Depressive Disorders: Themes That Underlie Integrated Psychotherapy Models of the Depressive Disorders,” is on the complex etiology of depression, and it is against the backdrop of this complexity that the chapter explores the themes that underlie integrated and unified etiological models for a common class of psychological disorders, the depressive disorders. The chapter examines how themes, comprised of environmental and genetic factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of depression across the life cycle of an individual, are maintained within the context of approaches that are integrated and unified. Chapter 3 investigates the common and specific elements of the depressive disorders and delves into various concepts that are related to the integrated and unified etiologic psychotherapy models for the depressive disorders. The chapter lays the groundwork for a multidimensional approach that embraces psychological, social, and biological variables, takes into account cognitive, interpersonal, and psychodynamic concepts, and outlines the etiology of depression from a neuroscience perspective.
