Depression is a well-defined clinical entity, identifiable by symptoms recognisable in all cultures through all ages. Here, Gayle traces the development of a psychoanalytic theory of depression from its inception with Abraham and Freud through recent theorists such as Klein, Spitz and Bowlby.

Depression is a well-defined clinical entity, identifiable by symptoms recognisable in all cultures through all ages. Here, Gayle traces the development of a psychoanalytic theory of depression from its inception with Abraham and Freud through recent theorists such as Klein, Spitz and Bowlby.