Category Archives: Despair

February 6, 2007 · 5:18 am

Getting the experience of depression right


While the Puritans thought the cause of depression was the result of an overabundance of black bile, many divines got the experience right. We can learn from their example and do our best to understand the pain and suffering of depression/despair that most struggle to put words to. Here’s one such description from Thomas Brooks (Works, v. 4,p. 260, 1867/1978) Continue reading →

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Filed under Depression, Despair

February 5, 2007 · 5:23 am

Science Monday: Shocking treatment for depression


I will be teaching on depression (types, causes, treatments) and despair in class today. In light of that I want to highlight two medical treatments that try to shock the brain into a better mood state. Will follow with more posts on depression through the week. Continue reading →

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Filed under counseling science, Depression, Despair

December 5, 2006 · 10:59 am

No longer despairing


Several years ago I wrote an article on the Puritan “treatment” of despair and melancholia. But I despaired of ever finding a home for it. It was too theological for some psychological publications, too clinical for some theological/historical publications…and so it languished. But yesterday I got my copy of Edification (2:3, 2006), the newsletter about to be flagship journal of the Society for Christian Psychology–and my article is the lead article. See my links on the right side of this page for their homepage.

As a teaser, here are some points I make. The article has lots of delicious (to me at least) quotes. Next week, I’ll trot out a couple for you. Continue reading →

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Filed under Depression, Despair, History of Psychology, Uncategorized

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