ABSTRACT
Depression (major depressive disorder) is a type of mood disorder in DSM-IV-TR classification. It is a very common mental illness in Hong Kong, and about one-quarter of the total population experience depression at least once in their lifetime. According to the Rehabilitation Programme Plan Review (Health and Welfare Bureau, 1999), only 10 percent of the people suffering from major depression will require psychiatric rehabilitation services. Many are treated by private psychiatrists, general practitioners, counselors, and social workers belonging to nongovernment organizations. Twice the number of females develop depression compared to males. Besides major depressive disorder, other mood disorders are dysthymic disorder (a prolonged minor depression of at least two years exhibiting symptoms of depression not warranting a diagnosis of major depression), and cyclothymic disorder (numerous episodes of hypomania and minor depression but not warranting a diagnosis of bipolar disorder) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). This chapter focuses on delineating assessments and interventions for people suffering from major depressive disorder, because the most commonly diagnosed mood disorder is major depression. The principles and skills of working with persons with major depression can often be applied to dysthymic disorder, however, these principles and skills may not be useful for helping people in the manic phase of manic depression or for those with cyclothymic disorder.
