ReaderViews on From Depression to Contentment

From Depression to Contentment: A Self-Therapy Guide

Bob Rich, Ph.D.
Loving Healing Press (2019)
ISBN 9781615994359
Reviewed by Rachel Dehning for Reader Views (6/20)

How we feel physically and mentally can make or break us. Dr. Bob Rich understands this and has the experience and expertise to solicit his advice unto our eager ears. In his book, “From Depression to Contentment: a Self-Therapy Guide,” Dr. Rich digs into the topic of depression and helps the reader make sense of this debilitating issue. “From Depression to Contentment” lives up to its promise by being very thorough in explaining every way in which depression can take hold of your life, and then teaches the reader how to take back control of their life to ease their symptoms. Dr. Rich’s book is a self-help book, providing the necessary information for the reader to be able to apply it to their own life in order to live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Everything about depression that Dr. Rich says in his book makes sense, is informationally correct, and can be easily done by any reader, as long as they are willing to put forth the effort. Anything that needs fixing in our lives requires some work, and depression is far from the exception. I appreciate how he covers the expanse of influence that depression has on a person’s life, but then also provides solid and attainable goals to work toward.

I also appreciate the extra resources through websites and book suggestions to add to our knowledge on this subject. He writes with a mostly positive and personal tone so that the reader can’t help but feel that they are sitting in his office, receiving his expert help in person. I say “mostly” above because the reader will find some of his personal beliefs interspersed in the text that might not be a shared opinion among everyone.

“From Depression to Contentment: a Self-Therapy Guide,” by Dr. Bob Rich should be known and read by everyone to help reduce the number of cases of depression around the world.

Bob Rich, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in psychology in 1972. He worked as an academic, researcher and applied scientist until “retiring” the first time at 36 years of age. Later, he returned to psychology and qualified as a Counseling Psychologist, running a private practice for over 20 years. During this time, he was on the national executive of the College of Counselling Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), then spent three years as a Director of the APS. He was the therapist referrers sent their most difficult cases to.

Bob retired in 2013, but still does pro bono counseling over the internet. This has given him hundreds of “children” and “grandchildren” he has never met, because many of these people stay in touch for years. His major joy in life is to be of benefit to others, which is why he wrote a book that’s in effect a course of therapy.

You can get to know him well at his blog, Bobbing Around, https://bobrich18.wordpress.com

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