Recommended Reading for Clinicians

Chronotherapeutics for Affective Disorders: A Clinician’s Manual for Light and Wake Therapy

Anna Wirz-Justice, Francesco Benedetti, Michael Terman. Basel: S. Karger, 2013

As the professional’s guide for setting up chronotherapy in hospital and clinical practice, this book includes a systematic exposition of basic circadian and sleep science and its translation to clinical trials and application.

A Clinician’s Guide to Using Light Therapy

Raymond W. Lam and Edwin M. Tam. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009

This step-by-step guide helps busy mental health clinicians and other health professionals better diagnose seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and incorporate light therapy into their everyday clinical practice. It includes educational handouts for patients, lists of frequently asked questions, and other resources.

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Practice and Research

T. Partonen and S. R. Pandi-Perumal, Eds. London: Oxford University Press, 2009

Season Affective Disorder (SAD), or winter depression, is a mood disorder related to the change in the seasons and lack of exposure to daylight. It affects 1 in 100 adults in western countries. SAD is a rare example of a psychiatric disorder with a clear, identifiable biological cause. The new edition of this award winning book brings together distinguished scientists and opinion leaders to discuss the current and anticipated developments in the study and care of SAD. Highlighting the clinical diagnosis and management of SAD, this book provides a valuable resource for all who are involved in the health care for patients with SAD. This book deals with the range of therapeutic measures that are available for the treatment of SAD. In addition, this book elucidates potential areas of research that have emerged, such as the study of the circadian pacemaker.

Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder, 4th edition

Norman E. Rosenthal. New York: Guilford Press, 2005

Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal’s indispensable guide for readers who suffer from the “winter blues” is now more useful than ever. This authoritative book presents a wealth of new information on remedies for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), including recent advances in light therapy, research on the effectiveness of antidepressants, and new recipes to counterbalance unhealthy winter food cravings. Dr. Rosenthal distinguishes among various degrees of the disorder, ranging from winter blues to full-blown SAD; provides a self-test that readers can use to evaluate their own seasonal mood changes.

Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks that Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing

Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005

In a scientist-journalist collaboration, the authors reveal the vital role of biological clocks, the strategies scientists are using to understand them, and the health risks that arise from malfunctioning clockwork.

The Body Clock Guide to Better Health : How to Use Your Body’s Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health

Michael Smolensky and Lynne Lamberg. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 2000

This comprehensive volume opens with an overview of how circadian rhythms affect daily life. An A-to-Z reference guide describes the impact of biological rhythms on symptom presentation and treatment response in psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and other common illnesses. The guide includes seasonal affective disorder, major and bipolar depression, pregnancy-related depression, delayed and advanced sleep phase disorder, insomnia, and more. The authors describe benefits of chronotherapies, including light, melatonin, and other medications. The bibliography contains more than 750 scientific references.

Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive

Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010

In this fascinating book, Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman draw on remarkable recent scientific advances to explain how seasonal change affects organisms, and how plants and animals over countless generations have evolved exquisite sensitivities and adaptations to the seasons. The authors also highlight the impact of seasonal change on human health and well-being. They conclude with a discussion of the dangers posed when climate changes disrupt the seasonal rhythms on which so much life depends.

Fighting Chance: How Unexpected Observations and Unintended Outcomes Shape the Science and Treatment of Depression

Sarah Zabel.  Sarah Zabel Enterprises, LLC: 2021

This is the first book for the lay and professional audience that seriously includes chronotherapies among the valid treatment options for depression. Sarah Zabel describes the range of hypotheses that have been invoked as underlying affective disorders, as well as our individual vulnerabilities (from genes, early life adversity, to the gut microbiome). A well-balanced and comprehensive guide to an important field.

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