Severe and Mild Depression: The Psychotherapeutic Approach. Silvano Arieti, M.D. and Jules Bemporad, M.D. New York:  Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1978,  X + 453 pp.

This new contribution to the theory and therapy of depressive states has been written by a leader in the field of psychiatry and psychoanalysis, Dr. Silvano Arieti, and a distinguished collaborator, Dr. Jules Bemporad, who contributes the added expertise of a child psychiatrist. The orientation of the authors is psychological and psychodynamic, and they also acknowledge the importance of biological factors and drug therapy. A first impression of the scope of their enterprise can be gleaned from an enumeration of the parts of the book: (1) basic notions and manifest symptomatology, (2) psychodynamics, (3) psychotherapy, (4) sociological and literary aspects of depression, (5) further analysis of cognition and depression. Given the vastness of the subject, the contribution does not purport to be a compendium. Rather, it strives to present a lucid, coherent, and intelligent review and to emphasize a particular point of view: the role of habits of thought in depression. It turns out to be a successful and worthwhile achievement.

For some time Silvano Arieti has been stressing the role of cognition in psychopathology. Cognition is the widely used, and misused, term harking back to the classification of mental activities of Ward, a late nineteenth century academic psychologist. Cognition was defined as an awareness of change in the sensory continuum. It also meant, broadly, knowledge and intellection, and was distinguished from emotion and conation. The authors, however, have set out to deal with the role of thinking, thoughts, concepts, ideas, and so forth, and it might be preferable to speak of thinking rather than cognition. But linguistic practices die hard.

Over the ages thinking has been pitted against feeling-intellect contrasted with emotion. But there is no thought without an accompanying affective tone, no affect that cannot be put into thought and word. At a time when so many are intent on glorifying emotions, it is refreshing to see the few who wish to reclaim t