It has been a while since I read it, but I remember thinking he made some very good points and no, he doesn't say depressed people should just get out of bed.... though he does spend a lot of time discussing the social factors behind much of what we call "mental illness." He was a shrink though, he also wrote a book called "The Ethics of Pschyoanalysis," so he believed and used the process.
It's winter. It's cold and dark. The lack of sunlight has a depressive effect on lots of people. Try some vitamin D and don't forget exercise. This is not to minimize the seriousness of depression, but in my experience there are many factors, and some of them can be easily taken care of.
Joanna