There are hundreds of books on the market that try to help readers 'overcome' or 'put a stop to' depression. But what if depression isn't a 'thing' to be gotten rid of? What if depression is a behaviour that, in the context of the life of someone who is depressed, serves an important function or acts as a signal that something needs to change? Learning to understand the function and interpret the signal of depression would, then, be a much more important goal than finding out how to simply make it go away. Living well even with feelings of depression would be a more productive-and probably more attainable-goal.This workbook marks a major development in the treatment of depression. Based on the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), an emerging new model of psychotherapy, "The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression" offers a new approach to depression. The central idea is that feelings of depression are not problems in themselves. What is a serious problem is the avoidance of pleasurable, productive activities. At first depression may set the sufferer up for this avoidance, but sooner or later the process becomes a cycle, and the avoidance behaviours start causing more depressed feelings. When readers use the techniques in this book to evaluate their own experiences of depression, they will find out how to make changes that may or may not decrease their depressed feelings but will most certainly enrich and improve their total life experience.

科尔克·斯特尔萨拉(Kirk D．Strosahl)，接受和实现疗法的创始人之一，抑郁管理和自杀行为的国际知名专家。他作为心理学家，为抑郁患者的心理康复工作了26年。他著作出版了多本书籍，现居住在华盛顿。

派翠西娅·罗宾逊(Patricia J．Robinson)，接受与实现疗法的长期实践者，出版了用接受与实现疗法(ACT)治疗长期疼痛的一系列书籍。她指导接受与实现疗法(ACT)和认知行为疗法在初级护理场所的临床使用长达26年。她著有两本关于抑郁治疗的书籍。

前言作者史蒂文·海斯(Steven C．Hayes)是内华达大学的心理学基金会教授，他是当今行为主义和临床心理学最有影响力的人物之一，他著有丰富的书籍和科研论文，包括享有盛誉的接受与实现疗法工作手册《走出心理，走入生命》(Get Out of Your Mindandinto Your Life)。