Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. His nonfiction titles include Coaching the Artist Within, Fearless Creating, The Van Gogh Blues, The Creativity Book, Performance Anxiety, Ten Zen Seconds, A Writer's San Francisco, and A Writer's Paris. A columnist for Art Calendar magazine, Maisel is a creativity coach and creativity coach trainer who presents keynote addresses and workshops nationally and internationally. Maisel holds undergraduate degrees in philosophy and psychology, master's degrees in counseling and creative writing, and a doctorate in counseling psychology. He is also a California-licensed marriage and family therapist. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit www.ericmaisel.com to learn more about Dr. Maisel, or drop him a line at ericmaisel@hotmail.com. To learn about his innovative breathing-and-thinking techniques, visit www.tenzenseconds.com.

In this provocative and pathbreaking distillation of a career spent working with individuals seeking help with mood and motivation, Eric Maisel reveals the implications of one of the most dramatic cultural shifts of our time. In recent decades, much of the unhappiness inherent in the human condition has been monetized and labeled as the disease of depression and related "disorders." Maisel persuasively critiques this sickness model and prescribes a potent new therapy. The existential cognitive-behavioral therapy (ECBT) he details here marries the proven methods of CBT with the powerful meaning-based orientation of existential therapy. The result is a revolutionary reimagining of life's difficulties and a liberating model of self-care that optimizes the innate human ability to create meaning and seize opportunity — in any circumstance.