There are an increasing number of people suffering from depression and depressed mood. Concurrently important benefits have been noticed from the effects of massage, effects that can be assumed to restore individual’s health with depression and depressed mood. The aim of the study was to examine the importance of gentle massage in connection with depression and depressed mood. The research was based on scientific studies that were applied through the databases Cinahl, elin@Kristianstad, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed and the journal Vård i Norden as well as by manual searches. In all, ten studies were included and content analysed. The contents were analyzed through identifying variables, establishing subject areas and creating categories. The important effects of gentle massage resulted in three categories: biological, emotional and social change. The categories underlie a holistic model over the research results. The results show that gentle massage had a positive influence in individuals with depression and depressed mood. The model can be used for increased knowledge and understanding about gentle massage importance in depression and depressed mood. Through the model, nurses can explain how the categories influence each other in a dynamic process. More research in this specific area is needed.