This book offers a presentation of the illness of depression that highlights this ubiquitous phenomenon as a systemic illness rather than exclusively a mental disorder. In doing so, it emphasizes the need for the primary care physician to be the first agent to care for "garden variety" depressive disorders and the need to alter medical school and residency training to accommodate the development of the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to fulfill this goal. Its unique approach and presentation of depression makes it a key resource for clinicians within the fields of both psychiatry and primary care medicine.