Productive and Unproductive Depression: By Emmy Gut. New York: Basic Books. 1989. Pp. 276.

The major theme of this book is best expressed in the final paragraph of the book. Gut states, 'Condensing the message of this book into a few línes, I want to repeat this: We have a precious genetic heritage in our tendency to take pause and, if necessary, withdraw when we are perplexed about our functioning. Although unintentional and often distressing, this tendency can help us become more observant of our perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories of the moment and integrate them in new ways to solve the puzzle, so that life can become more meaningful. Therefore, it is essential that we respect the development of this capacity in our children; that we help our partners and our patients to exercise it; and that we dare exercise it ourselves'.

Gut sees the normal affect of depression as a potentially adaptive response. She refers to a 'basic depressed response'. That is, whenever a person perceives, although this perception is largely unconscious, that some significant effort of his is failing or is coming to a standstill, and we undertake to grasp what is wrong, the affect of depression will ensue. It will be accompanied by a typical set of physiological symptoms. Its purpose will be to facilitate and protect concentration on intensified conscious and unconscious scanning, exploration and integration of relevant experience in ways that can lead to a resolution of the internal deadlock or to the recognition that there is no resolution, thus enabling a fruitless effort to be discontinued. Thus the depressed response whose function it is to facilitate intensified information processing concerning a specific problem will remain active until the inner deadlock is resolved. In the case of a productive outcome this will result in additional insight, improved communication with self and others, and restored equilibrium. In the instance where the depressed response is not able to facilitate the process of discovery and growth, the result will be continued depr