Exactly.

Was he diagnosed with depression or did he self-diagnose? If he's been diagnosed by a Dr., that Dr. should have referred him to a Therapist already and/or started him on meds.

When i was diagnosed, my bf at the time didnt understand depression what so ever. He did the complete opposite of what you're supposed to do when someone close to you has depression. So i went to Border's and bought him a book titled something along the lines of "When someone you love is depressed". I read the whole thing and found a lot of great pointers in there. You can also search the internet and find some really good tips on what and what not to say and do.

Good Luck.