The Interactional Nature of Depression

Even when theorists, researchers and therapists themselves forget, depressed people will say that their involvement in interpersonal relationships matter: relationships perceived as good buffer them from depression, and relationships perceived as bad contribute to and maintain their depression. Depressed individuals frequently know that they are in a "Catch 22" dilemma of needing the very people whom their symptoms disaffect. Processes such as "excessive reassurance seeking" and "negative feedback seeking" may be involved in the cycle of depression. Depressed individuals may also realize that their therapy needs to focus on improving the nature of their relationships. "The Interactional Nature of Depression" brings together interpersonal, cognitive, stress and coping, developmental, and social psychology perspectives into a more complex and more comprehensive approach to depression theory and research. In the book's bold and substantive postscript, co-editor James C. Coyne offers some caveats regarding the limitations of certain lines of research.
Moreover, he calls for alternative formats and therapeutic strategies for intervening directly in the relationships of depressed individuals, enlisting the help of whoever in the individual's environment is willing to become involved.