The New Psychology of Depression

About

We live in a world filled with material wealth, live longer and healthier lives, and yet anxiety, stress, unhappiness, and depression have never been more common. What are the driving forces behind these interlinked global epidemics? In this series, Professor Mark Williams (Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow at Oxford University) and Dr Danny Penman discuss the recent scientific advances that have radically altered our understanding of depression and related disorders. Also discussed is the latest treatments and therapies that are offering hope to those suffering from depression. Professor Williams co-developed Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a treatment for anxiety, stress and depression that is at least as effective as drugs at preventing new episodes of depression. It's now one of the preferred treatments for depression recommended by the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The same technique, based upon an ancient form of meditation, can also help us cope more effectively with the relentless demands of our increasingly frantic world. Professor Williams and Dr Penman co-authored the bestselling book Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World.

Mindfulness and the brain

In this final episode Professor Mark Williams and Danny Penman discuss how imaging studies show that Mindfulness may have numerous profoundly positive effects on the brain.

12/5/2011 • 27 minutes, 46 seconds

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on trial

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is especially good for people who have suffered the most debilitating forms of depression. The evidence for its effectiveness is overwhelming and continues to grow.

11/28/2011 • 24 minutes, 29 seconds

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: A new approach to treating depression

Mindfulness therapy is an extremely effective treatment preventing relapse in depression. But what does it entail and how does it work?

11/14/2011 • 37 minutes, 11 seconds

Can treatments such as Cognitive Therapy help?

Depression tends to return even if it has been successfully treated. Scientists now understand why this happens and have developed therapies that reduce the risks of relapse and help lift the burden of depression should it return.

11/7/2011 • 32 minutes, 52 seconds

How is depression treated?

Doctors and psychiatrists once believed that patterns of thinking played little or no role in depression, but this is now known to be wrong. Professor Williams and Dr Danny Penman discuss how the treatment of depression has evolved in recent years.

10/21/2011 • 28 minutes, 13 seconds

What is depression?

Depression is expected to impose the second biggest health burden globally by 2020; greater even than heart disease, arthritis and many forms of cancer. Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman discuss the driving forces behind this startling trend.

10/21/2011 • 31 minutes, 36 seconds