Mood disorders

Mood disorders include various affective problems such as major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder, cyclothymiacs disorder, and dysthymic disorder. Depression occurs as a result of sudden environmental changes in which opportunities for positive reinforcement become limited. The paradigmatic model of depression is a comprehensive formulation of major depression that includes attention to acquired biological risk factors, historical antecedent events, and psychological vulnerability. According to this model, there are three basic behavioral repertoires of depression: (1) emotional-motivational, (2) language-cognitive, and (3) sensory-motor. Functional assessment of depressive symptoms may involve the use of clinical interviews conducted with the patient, family member, spouse, caregiver, or teacher in the case of adolescent or childhood depression. Functional analytic psychotherapy involves the application of functional analysis within the context of the therapeutic relationship. Self-report measures of depression also have proven useful in assessing a tremendous range of content areas, including affective, verbal-cognitive, somatic, behavioral, and social symptoms of depression.