Positive Interventions in Depression

Positive psychiatry is a new approach to psychiatric disorders; instead of focusing on the mental pathology, it promotes the well-being of the person and emphasizes the strength and resilience of the person. It derives its momentum and theoretical underpinnings from the more established field of positive psychology, an emerging scientific branch of psychology that renders itself to research and empirical studies. From the inception of psychiatry as a medical specialty in the nineteenth century, the field has been divided into the biological sciences and the psychological/social sciences, each side claiming the etiological explanations and the therapeutic modalities of mental illnesses. And with the advances in our current knowledge and clinical experiences, we are coming to the realization that the dichotomy of brain/mind or biology/psychology is losing grounds to a new more integrative and reciprocal model of understanding the human mind. One of the significant mental disorders that demonstrates the dialectical nature of the brain/mind dilemma is a major depression. In this chapter, I will discuss the various historical conceptualizations and treatments of major depressive illness to illustrate the probable multifaceted etiology of depression and the broad spectrum of treatment options that span the continuum from the biological to the psychological. I will also illustrate how the very nature of the major depressive disorder renders it well suited for positive psychiatry to play a role in its causal understanding and a crucial role in its management and prevention.