cognitive approach to explaining/ treating depression

Question 1

who are the two psychologists that suggested cognitive approaches to explaining depression?

Answer 1

Beck
Ellis

Question 2

what are the 3 subsections of Becka cognitive theory of depression?

Answer 2

•faulty information processing
•negative self schemas
•the negative triad

Question 3

what is faulty information processing?

Answer 3

a sufferer of depression tends to focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives, as well as blowing small problems out of proportion and think in ‘black and white’ terms

Question 4

what are negative self schemas?

Answer 4

a self-schema is a package of information we have about ourselves, if you have a negative one you interpret all information about yourself in a negative way

Question 5

what is the negative triad?

Answer 5

Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self. Such negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression.

Question 6

what are the three aspects of the negative triad?

Answer 6

•negative view of the world, creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere
•negative view of the future, thinking that things will never get better and increasing hopelessness
•negative view of the self, enhancing existing feelings of low self esteem

Question 7

who proposed the ABC model?

Answer 7

Ellis

Question 8

what did the ABC model explain?

Answer 8

how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state

Question 9

what are the A B and C of the ABC model?

Answer 9

A- activating event
B- beliefs
C- consequences

Question 10

A- activating event

Answer 10

Ellis focused on situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events. the activating event trigger irrational beliefs. it can be something like the ending of a relationship or a major life change

Question 11

B- beliefs

Answer 11

Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs, these beliefs are triggered by the activating event.

Question 12

C- consequences

Answer 12

when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences. for example, if you believe you must always succeed and then fail at something this can trigger depression.

Question 13

Evaluation points for Beck and Ellis

Answer 13

strength: supporting evidence
strength: practical applications
strength: the cognitive model is good at explaining mild/ moderate depression
limitation: cannot explain all types of depression

Question 14

strength of cognitive approaches:
supporting evidence

Answer 14

•Grazioli and Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before or after birth. they found that those women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression
•Clark and Beck reviewed research and concluded there was solid support for all these cognitive vulnerability factors

Question 15

what did Grazioli and Terry do?

Answer 15

they assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before or after birth. they found that those women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression

Question 16

strength of cognitive approaches:
practical applications

Answer 16

practical applications in CBT, cognitive aspects can be identified and challenged through CBT. it focuses on challenging irrational beliefs, suggesting that these thought processes play a role in depression.

Question 17

limitation: cannot explain all types of depression

Answer 17

•some people with depression suffer from Cotard syndrome (the delusion that they are zombies). the cognitive explanation struggles to explain more severe types of depression that have symptoms of hallucinations and bizarre beliefs.
•also, some people develop depression from a trauma and not faulty thinking

Question 18

what is the main therapy for treating depression?

Answer 18

CBT

Question 19

what are the 4 stages of CBT?

Answer 19

•Establishing rapport (a trusting relationship) with client
•identify faulty thinking
•help client understand that faulty thinking leads to negative emotions which leads to negative behaviours
•challenge the faulty thinking

Question 20

how long does CBT usually last for?

Answer 20

usually 8-10 weeks, around 1 hour per week

Question 21

How does Ellis’ model define irrational thoughts?

Answer 21

as thoughts that are likely to interfere with our happiness

Question 22

who are the two psychologists that proposed cognitive approaches to treating depression?

Answer 22

Beck
Ellis

Question 23

what was Becks cognitive theory (CBT)?

Answer 23

•the idea behind it was to identify automatic thoughts about the world, self and future. once identified these thoughts must be challenged
•it aims to test the reality of negative beliefs, they may be set homework (to find positive things and experiences in their life)
•beck uses the phrase ‘patient as scientist’
•during the therapy, to challenge the irrational thoughts, Beck can produce evidence of the positive things in the homework.

Question 24

what is Ellis’ version of CBT called?

Answer 24

Ellis’ Rational emotive behaviour therapy

Question 25

CBT: Ellis’ rational emotive behaviour therapy

Answer 25

•REBT extends the ABC model to an ABCDE model- D stands for dispute and E stands for effect
•the central technique of REBT is to identify and dispute (challenge) irrational thoughts
•this aims to break the link between negative life events and depression (by identifying the negative thought processes and disputing them)
•Ellis identifies different methods of disputing
- empirical disputing (involves disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief)
- logical disputing (involves disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the facts)

Question 26

what are the two different types of disputing Ellis proposed?

Answer 26

•empirical disputing - involves disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief
•logical disputing - involves disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the facts

Question 27

what is behavioural activation?

Answer 27

when the therapist encourages a depressed patient to be more active and engage in enjoyable activities

Question 28

CBT evaluation points

Answer 28

•strength: it is effective
•limitation: may not work for the most severe cases
•success may be due to the therapist-patient relationship

Question 29

CBT strength: it is effective

Answer 29

•Study by March concluded that CBT was just as effective at improving symptoms as medication, and when they are combined they are even more effective
•over 80% effective makes it a good use of time and resources

Question 30

What is March (2007)‘s study?

Answer 30

•he gathered 327 depressed adolescents and treated them with either CBT, antidepressants or both
•81% of the CBT group saw an improvement in symptoms
•81% of the antidepressant group saw an improvement in symptoms
•86% of the combined group saw an improvement in symptoms
•he concluded that CBT is just as effective as medication but more effective when combined

Question 31

CBT limitation: it may not work for the most severe cases

Answer 31

•in some cases of depression it can be so severe that patients cannot motivate themselves to engage with the work and homework that is set
•in some cases it may be best to start with antidepressants and then introduce CBT
•it may also not be useful for some severe depressions that cause symptoms like psychosis
•this is a limitation as it means CBT cannot be the sole treatment for all types of depression

Question 32

CBT limitation: success may be due to the therapist- patient relationship

Answer 32

•Rozenzweig (1936) suggested that the differences between different methods of psychotherapy (between CBT/ systematic desensitisation) might actually be quite small
•they all have a therapist-patient relationship, and it may be the quality of this relationship that determines success rather than any particular technique that is used
•many comparative reviews also found very small differences
•this relationship is important as the therapist validates the clients feelings
•humanist theory proposes that the therapist offers ‘unconditional positive regard’