ABSTRACT
Depression is among the most common of all psychiatric disorders. It is estimated that between 8% and 18% of the general population will experience at least one clinically significant episode of depression during their lifetime (Kessler, McGonagle, Swartz, & Blazer, 1993), and that approximately twice as many women as men will be affected by this disorder (Blehar & Oren, 1995). Depression is also a recurrent disorder: Over 80% of depressed patients have more than one depressive episode (Belsher & Costello, 1988). In fact, over 50% of depressed patients have been found to relapse within 2 years of recovery (e.g., Keller & Shapiro, 1981); individuals with three or more previous episodes of depression may have a relapse rate as high as 40% within only 12 to 15 weeks after recovery (Keller et al., 1992; Mueller et al., 1996).
