Michael Yapko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, author, and internationally recognized expert on the subjects of treating major depression, brief forms of psychotherapy, and the clinical applications of hypnosis in psychotherapy and behavioral medicine. He has written ten books as sole author, of which three were trade books with major publishers (Breaking the Patterns of Depression (Random House/Doubleday, now in its eleventh printing), Hand-Me-Down Blues: How to Stop Depression from Spreading in Families (St. Martin’s), and Suggestions of Abuse: True and False Memories of Childhood Sexual Trauma (Simon & Schuster)), and three books as sole editor, dozens of articles and chapters in books, and the section on “Treating Depression,” for the Encyclopedia Britannica Medical and Health Annual. Hand-Me-Down Blues was the first book to address how depression affects families. Suggestions of Abuse was the first on the subject of the unreliable nature of  “recovered memories.”  He was recently given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Hypnosis, a professional organization that represents physician and psychologist researchers in over 30 countries.