Richard O'Connor, a therapist who suffers from depression, shows that depressed people have trouble digging themselves out of one episode or warding off the next because they have become adept at the "skills of depression" such as denying, procrastinating and intellectualizing. The book shows how therapists can help patients see connections between what happens in their lives and how they feel inside. O'Connor demonstrates an active approach to the treatment of depression that integrates many different points of view.