The Little Book on CBT for Depression is a nonfiction self-help book written by Dr. Nicola Ridgeway, ClinPsyD, and Dr. James Manning, ClinPsyD. The authors are Consultant Clinical Psychologists and Cognitive Behaviour Therapists. They had each been less than successful in persuading their clients to read the books dealing with depression that they would recommend to them. While the books were excellent and had much to offer, the clients found them difficult to read in their current low-energy states, and physically heavy and cumbersome. This book started out as therapy notes from CBT sessions, which were collected and compiled into a booklet they would give to their clients. Clients returned asking for copies for friends and family, so the authors put The Little Book on CBT for Depression into large scale production. There are 18 sessions in the text, that each take about 5 minutes to work through. While some may choose to read through the entire text in one sitting, working carefully through each of the sessions may prove to be more beneficial.

Dr. Nicola Ridgeway and Dr. James Manning's nonfiction self-help book, The Little Book on CBT for Depression, is designed to have the reader learn to recognize and change unhealthy patterns of thinking. Some sessions start with surprisingly easy, yet perceptive premises, such as the first one, entitled The Paradox of Deception, which demonstrates how learning to have an attitude of acceptance toward depressed or down feelings can relieve your brain of the imperative of continuing to send those feelings. I found myself fascinated by this little book. It felt like I had a therapist working with me individually as I pondered the subject matter of each session. The concepts and theories presented for the reader to consider are intuitive and certain to help in the healing process for many who have no real idea how their thought processes were shaped by their pasts, and how one gets past those early conditioning factors to live more fully in the present. The Little Book on CBT for Depression is accessible, designed for the layman, and ingenious. It's most highly recommended.

The Little Book on CBT for Depression by Dr Nicola Ridgeway and Dr James Manning is a non-fiction book that started as therapy notes for the authors’ clients, which were then collected into a book for local distribution and, due to public demand, became a self-help book available to the general public. It is designed as a simple explanation of and advice on how to control that sinking feeling of depression, dysthymia and low mood by using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). Written like real life sessions between a therapist and a client, some chapters also contain reflections that aim to enlighten the reader about the specific topic discussed. It consists of eighteen sessions or chapters starting with topics like The Paradox of Depression, Validate Your Feelings, Identifying your Own Limiting Beliefs, Using the Law of Opposites, and Now Choose to Know.

Easy to read and highly informative, The Little Book on CBT for Depression by Dr Nicola Ridgeway and Dr James Manning is a must-have book for the general public, CBT practitioners, and general practitioners alike. As depression, dysthymia and low moods become more common, the relevance of this topic simply cannot be ignored. Most of us know someone who suffers from these conditions, but not many of us are aware of CBT. The book’s format is quite interesting because it comes out as a dialogue between a therapist and his client and the result is like listening to a discussion that is easy to follow, with minimum use of scientific jargon that could turn off some readers. Here are some simple steps to become happier, calmer, and saner by understanding how the brain works. In effect, this book offers some practical suggestions to get ourselves together based on the tenets of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT) in a language that we all understand.