Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential clinical utility of a descriptive typology of negative mood states that can present as, and tend to get loosely subsumed under, the broad ranging term, ‘depression’.
Method: Information and ideas from clinical practice and the existing literature have been brought together with a view to compiling a provisional, brief, descriptive typology of depressed mood.
Conclusion: A qualitative typology of various kinds of depressed mood has heuristic value in engaging, formulating and planning treatment for people presenting with ‘depression’.