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Publication Date:	28 April 2016
ISBN: ISBN 13:	1-785385-00-3 978-1-785385-00-1
Page Extent:	150
Book Size:	210x148mm
Price:	£6.99
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Publication Date:	28 April 2016
Digital eBook ISBN 13:	978-1-908548-63-4
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-- Reviews by the Famous and well Known

There are many works like this in circulation, but unlike the others this is varied and interesting. I have had this book for months and dipped into it many times. Excellent and recommended.
Robert Auty, Author of 'Trance Warriors: The Siege of Scarn'

~

Personal support mechanisms?
From time to time we are asked to bring to readers’ attention, the kind of self-help strategies that are marketed through stress management consultants or publications. One such publication that has come our way is a small volume by Andrew Vass, “Beat Depression with self-help techniques”, published by APEX at £6.99 (ISBN 1-904444-25-3).
The network view has always been that the fundamental action for employers is to address and remove the root causes of workplace stress, anxiety and depression. However we also recognise that supportive coping self help and employer led strategies sitting alongside this action will assist workers to address some of the problems they face. The Hatton Appeal Judgement also acknowledged that employer provision of support services is a key factor in relief of work-related illnesses of a psychological nature. Employers who make such provision are less likely to be found responsible for the damage to health claims that may be generated by employees.
Vass explores in a supportive and helpful way, without the repetition of detailed empirical research programmes, the benefits of self-counselling, assertiveness, aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy and self-assessment tasks with brief explanations of suitable techniques and exercises which are designed to help replace negative thoughts with more positive approaches.
He explores the benefits of an identified framework which can be applied to personal learning which develops a flexible and yet structured approach to self-help.
Brief glossaries support task–based approaches to a range of strategies, threading a way through stressors in all aspects of life, including aspects of work, family life and relationships.
The volume concludes with thoughts about its sources of inspiration – Carl Rogers who developed the concept of counselling in the 1950s; Albert Ellis, writer on emotive behavioural therapy; David Burns, a cognitive behavioural therapist and others.
This is quite a useful volume of guidance for those who are able to analyse their own situations supporting themselves through difficult moments created by the unrelenting depressive factors in our lives.
Nevertheless this approach still requires the collaborative support of positive workplace action to relieve the causes of these tensions.
Ian Draper, UK National Work-Stress Network (Network Convenor)

~

I found this to be a very easy to read and practical book - considering there is such a myriad of information available on this subject. The exercises and resources are wonderfully simple yet extremely powerful. Andrew Vass has tactfully dealt with a broad range of issues and provided a well rounded, well grounded toolkit to deal with depression and its symptoms and effects. It offers working knowledge of a variety of counselling and psychotherapeutic techniques to the reader in an easy to understand format.
Neil Shah, Stress Management Society (Chairman)

~

Beat Depression with Self-Help Techniques
Author: Andrew Vass
Apex Publishing Ltd (£6.99)
ISBN-904444-25-3
Self-help, I suppose, is the new black. You don’t have to look very far to read or hear about self-help for almost everything you can think of (and some things you perhaps don’t like to think of).
Whilst the new mantra might be self-help, not all of the ‘guides’/books/advice actually ‘do what they say on the tin’ i.e. help people to help themselves, in a very practical and effective way.
Similarly, there are not many useful sources which use self-help approaches, techniques and practical tips with the most serious of subjects – depression. However, help and self-help is at hand.
This book is a really useful and practical resource, written by Andrew Vass in a straightforward, simple and effective way, which will provide invaluable advice, guidance and information to ‘Beat Depression with Self-Help Techniques’.
The real value of this important book is its power, and the ability of its author to explain what are quite complex theories in a simple, easy to understand way, and which ‘connect’ with the reader.
The examples, approaches and explanations are all relevant, useful and keep your interest. There is considerable variety too, as an appropriate and helpful mix of tasks, exercises, questions, role play and illuminative illustrations are applied to a wide range of contexts and issues.
Black is what people see when they are suffering from depression, when they may be struggling with grief, stress, anger, relationships, self-worth, morale, assertiveness and other life and work pressures.
The skill of the author, Andrew Vass, is that he has provided a simple, extremely helpful guide and a straightforward practical understanding of different counselling techniques, (as well as explaining the power and effectiveness of cognitive and rational emotive behavioural therapies). He assists readers to build pictures which help bring light to issues and ways of tackling a wide range of problems.
This important book deserves to be widely read, and widely used in different settings. It will be relevant and of interest to a wide audience. Its advice and practical help will be useful in schools, in Further Education and Higher Education. It will also be a valuable resource for use in community settings where there is an additional need to address problems related to social exclusion and many disengaged, disaffected and disillusioned individuals.
However, it will also be useful more generally for both young people and adults who simply are looking for ways to help with particular issues. These include coping with choices, exams, assisting victims of bullying, dealing with fear, learning confidence and assisting people at transition points in their lives. The book also helps people to break out of ‘circular thinking’ and assist them in moving on.
It does what is says on the tin. It combines clarity, depth of analysis, brevity (137 pages but it was so interesting, and well laid out that it appeared much shorter), as well as a style of writing which always engaged and connected. Succinct and easy to read, and its important advice and guidance is easy to understand.
Twenty excellent concise chapters, two really useful appendices on Counselling Techniques and Cognitive Therapy, further helpful reading and references and a simple index are included in the book. At £6.99 it represents great value and it could just help change your life – as well as other people’s – if you take some of its excellent advice.
Bob Bissell, Glasgow Caledonian University (Director of Learning Services)

~

It indeed uses REBT techniques. I like it a lot and think it will do a lot of good.
Albert Ellis, Leading Writer in the Cognitive Therapies

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Thanks very much for your excellent wee book. There was a great deal in your book that I found very insightful. I would agree with your description of practical self-help.
Councillor Rev Ewen Aitken, City of Edinburgh Council & Executive Member for Children and Families

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This book is for any depression sufferers, whether currently depressed or previously depressed, its audience is wide and accessible to many.
The book is neatly divided into sections. Within each section are ‘aims’ so you know clearly what you should achieve by the end of each chapter. There is information on each area discussed, such as dealing with a lack of confidence and each chapter offers tasks to try. The tasks are varied. Some take only a few minutes and are in relation to the book, whilst other require you to spend longer, giving them some serious thought.
When I began the book I was instantly impressed. The organisation of the book and the opportunity to be active through completing the tasks, were a refreshing change from other similar books that I had read.
However, half way through the book my enthusiasm lessened as the author became caught up in describing therapies, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). It became quite complicated and at times I felt as though I was a psychology student who was struggling to keep up. One of the difficulties with depression is the lack of concentration, and I felt this book didn’t allow for this at times.
Having said all of that, I did find the book very useable and extremely helpful. I would definitely recommend it, but I would advise people not to read it from start to finish and cover to cover. This book is better being “dipped into” in the chapters that are of interest to the reader.
I would give the book 8 out of 10.
Charlotte Gray, CCC Registered Counsellor

~

This is a book, which is long overdue as it provides guidelines for anyone with a concern for personal growth.
The advantages of having an identified framework and methodogy to apply to personal and social education is that it provides a structured approach which remains flexible. It is as a result of this, particularly appropriate in the context of personal and social education.
The points made in the context of Personal and Social education programmes are equally valid in situations that pertain between parents and their offspring as well as to individuals. One cannot help wondering if we would not create a better world to live, if all of us learnt and used the skills which this author sets to equip us with.
Margaret Jarvie, Counsellor and Educational Therapist in Scotland

~

-- Newspaper and Website Reviews

Personal support mechanisms?
From time to time we are asked to bring to readers’ attention, the kind of self-help strategies that are marketed through stress management consultants or publications. One such publication that has come our way is a small volume by Andrew Vass, “Beat Depression with self-help techniques”, published by APEX at £6.99 (ISBN 1-904444-25-3).
The network view has always been that the fundamental action for employers is to address and remove the root causes of workplace stress, anxiety and depression. However we also recognise that supportive coping self help and employer led strategies sitting alongside this action will assist workers to address some of the problems they face. The Hatton Appeal Judgement also acknowledged that employer provision of support services is a key factor in relief of work-related illnesses of a psychological nature. Employers who make such provision are less likely to be found responsible for the damage to health claims that may be generated by employees.
Vass explores in a supportive and helpful way, without the repetition of detailed empirical research programmes, the benefits of self-counselling, assertiveness, aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy and self-assessment tasks with brief explanations of suitable techniques and exercises which are designed to help replace negative thoughts with more positive approaches.
He explores the benefits of an identified framework which can be applied to personal learning which develops a flexible and yet structured approach to self-help.
Brief glossaries support task–based approaches to a range of strategies, threading a way through stressors in all aspects of life, including aspects of work, family life and relationships.
The volume concludes with thoughts about its sources of inspiration – Carl Rogers who developed the concept of counselling in the 1950s; Albert Ellis, writer on emotive behavioural therapy; David Burns, a cognitive behavioural therapist and others.
This is quite a useful volume of guidance for those who are able to analyse their own situations supporting themselves through difficult moments created by the unrelenting depressive factors in our lives.
Nevertheless this approach still requires the collaborative support of positive workplace action to relieve the causes of these tensions.
UK National Work-Stress Network Newsletter

~

Personal support mechanisms?
From time to time we are asked to bring to readers’ attention, the kind of self-help strategies that are marketed through stress management consultants or publications. One such publication that has come our way is a small volume by Andrew Vass, “Beat Depression with self-help techniques”, published by APEX at £6.99 (ISBN 1-904444-25-3).
The network view has always been that the fundamental action for employers is to address and remove the root causes of workplace stress, anxiety and depression. However we also recognise that supportive coping self help and employer led strategies sitting alongside this action will assist workers to address some of the problems they face. The Hatton Appeal Judgement also acknowledged that employer provision of support services is a key factor in relief of work-related illnesses of a psychological nature. Employers who make such provision are less likely to be found responsible for the damage to health claims that may be generated by employees.
Vass explores in a supportive and helpful way, without the repetition of detailed empirical research programmes, the benefits of self-counselling, assertiveness, aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy and self-assessment tasks with brief explanations of suitable techniques and exercises which are designed to help replace negative thoughts with more positive approaches.
He explores the benefits of an identified framework which can be applied to personal learning which develops a flexible and yet structured approach to self-help.
Brief glossaries support task–based approaches to a range of strategies, threading a way through stressors in all aspects of life, including aspects of work, family life and relationships.
The volume concludes with thoughts about its sources of inspiration – Carl Rogers who developed the concept of counselling in the 1950s; Albert Ellis, writer on emotive behavioural therapy; David Burns, a cognitive behavioural therapist and others.
This is quite a useful volume of guidance for those who are able to analyse their own situations supporting themselves through difficult moments created by the unrelenting depressive factors in our lives.
Nevertheless this approach still requires the collaborative support of positive workplace action to relieve the causes of these tensions.
www.workstress.net

~

A practical guide to beating the scourge of modern life; depression. Depression is a crippling illness which affects million. Worse, some people suffer from “endogenous” depression where the cause isn’t immediately obvious.
Vass provides sound self-help techniques based on his experience as a lecturer in counselling and leaves no stone unturned as he tries to give the depressed person the greatest gift of all; hope.
Even grief, often the most terrible of depression-related conditions, can be successfully overcome with the right help.
Every counsellor should have a copy of this book in their library!
Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette

~

Beat Depression with Self-Help Techniques
ANDREW VASS
1904444253 £6.99 124pp
AVAILABLE NOW
Facing difficult situations is part of our everyday lives, but we can easily feel overwhelmed and become drawn into a depressive state. However, this book illustrates that, by using a range of self-counselling techniques to explore our inner world of thoughts and feelings, it is possible to overcome our problems and move on.
Christian Market Place Magazine

~

I found this to be a very easy to read and practical book - considering there is such a myriad of information available on this subject. The exercises and resources are wonderfully simple yet extremely powerful. Andrew Vass has tactfully dealt with a broad range of issues and provided a well rounded, well grounded toolkit to deal with depression and its symptoms and effects. It offers working knowledge of a variety of counselling and psychotherapeutic techniques to the reader in an easy to understand format.
www.stress.org.uk

~

In my opinion 90% of self help books have been written by three types of people, 1) people with big ego's who want to show the world how many big words they know which leave the reader confused, 2) people who want to make a quick buck and no nothing about there subject but have managed to write the book through research which in my opinion is dangerous to the reader, 3) Someone who likes to write a self help book that tells us things we already know and does not help us one bit.
I come across a lot of self help books that have not been worth the paper they have been written on and this to me begs the question how are they getting through the net and are publishers asleep when they agree to allow them to be published. This book however, Beat Depression with Self Help Techniques by Andrew Vass is a rare self help book, this is the 10% of self help books that are good and I would even go to the extent to say great because unlike the 90% this one talks in a language we can all understand, it does not feed us with irrelevant information just to fill the pages it actually give us positive information with and wait for this credible techniques to help us deal with and beat depression. I was not looking forward to reading this book and if you have read as many books as I have with all the advertising that goes with it telling us this is the next best thing then you can understand why but after the first chapter I was hooked and even found myself trying some of the techniques. I nearly fell off my chair with the expertise that fills every page making me wish that Andrew Vass could sit down with the other 90% and tell them where they are going wrong. If you suffer from depression or if you simply have small family problems or maybe you are feeling negative about a situation then you definitely need to reed this book that comes with role plays and self help exercises. This book makes you feel you have your very own expert in front of you taking you on the road to recovery.
Geoff Tims, Lightload Monthly Magazine

~

I found this to be a very easy to read and practical book - considering there is such a myriad of information available on this subject. The exercises and resources are wonderfully simple yet extremely powerful. Andrew Vass has tactfully dealt with a broad range of issues and provided a well rounded, well grounded toolkit to deal with depression and its symptoms and effects. It offers working knowledge of a variety of counselling and psychotherapeutic techniques to the reader in an easy to understand format.
www.praesto.uk.com

~

TEACHER'S SELF-HELP GUIDE TO BEATING DEPRESSION
A HISTORY teacher at a city school has penned a self-help book on how to overcome depression.
Andrew Vass, who teaches at Craigmount High School, was inspired to write Beat Depression with Self Help Techniques after working as a guidance teacher and a counselling tutor for the city’s community education department.
He said: "The book is particularly relevant right now because each day in the press one reads reports about anxiety and depression caused by credit card debt, problems parents have with difficult youngsters, and difficulties young adults have with expensive housing and stressful jobs."
Mr Vass, 53, who lives in Corstorphine, said the "biggest thrill" of writing the book was talking to Albert Ellis - "a kind of Matt Busby of counselling and sex therapy in the United States".
Evening News

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-- Radio and TV

-- Readers Comments

I read the book from cover to cover with great interest.
Gavin Talbot-Smith
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Beautifully written. So pleased that other members of my family will be able to read it.
A reader from Scotland
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-- Book Signings and Events

-- Libraries that stock this book
Tranent Library, East Lothian
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East Lothian Library, East Lothian
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Central Library, Edinburgh
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East Linton Library, East Lothian
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Moredun Library, Edinburgh
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The British Library, Boston Spa
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The Bodleian Library, Oxford
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The University Library, Cambridge
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The National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
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The Library of Trinity College, Dublin
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The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
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Renton Library, Glasgow
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Parkhall Library, Glasgow
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Ladyton Library, Glasgow
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Gavinburn Library, Glasgow
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Faifley Library, Glasgow
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Duntocher Library, Glasgow
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Dalmuir Library, Glasgow
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Clydebank Library, Glasgow
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Balloch Library, Glasgow
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Alexandria Library, Glasgow
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