Depression (cognitive treatments)

Question 1

What is CBT?

Answer 1

• A talking therapy that focusses on cognitive restructuring.
• It works on the basis that thoughts, emotions and behaviours are all interlinked and changing the way an individual thinks will change the way they feel and behave, and in this context, reduce the symptoms of depression.

Question 2

CBT simplified

Answer 2

• CBT is a stage process that aims to challenge irrational thoughts and reinforce positive ones.

Question 3

What are the 3 stages to CBT? (1)

Answer 3

1. ‘Thought catching’- identify irrational, negative thoughts (client asked to monitor and record events that trigger negative thinking so these can be targeted).

Question 4

What are the 3 stages of CBT? (2)

Answer 4

2. Disputing- logical empirical and pragmatic.
   - the client is treated as a ‘scientist’, they are asked to generate hypothesis to test the reality of their negative, irrational thoughts.

Question 5

What are the 3 stages of CBT? (3)

Answer 5

3. Skills development- the client is encouraged to practice their new restructured, positive ways of thinking.
   - They work through different scenarios, both in their imagination and in real situations.

Question 6

Evaluation (+)- holistic therapy

Answer 6

-CBT is considered a holistic therapy (a strength).
- It focuses on treating the whole person and looking at the ‘bigger picture’ rather than reducing depression down to its separate component parts.
- It takes into account how an individual thinks and feels, these are important features of being a human.

Question 7

Evaluation (+)= supporting evidence

Answer 7

Embling
- Found that 12 weeks of CBT for depression was effective in reducing symptoms, this mirrors the findings of many other studies.

Question 8

Evaluation (+)= long term solution

Answer 8

• CBT is considered so effective because it provides a depressed person with the tools they need to help them deal with future episodes of depression, it therefore offers a long term solution.

Question 9

Evaluation (-)= effort levels

Answer 9

• One issue with CBT is that it requires much more effort than a simple drug treatment.
• One of the symptoms of depression is a lack of motivation- this makes it challenging to travel to appointments each week and to commit to doing homework tasks.
• This means that CBT has a high dropout rate and these patients will not achieve the potential benefits. This also means that this may not be an appropriate treatment for individuals with severe depression or those with learning difficulties, drug treatments may be more accessible and successful for these individuals.

Question 10

Evaluation (-)= clients wants

Answer 10

• Despite research showing just how effective CBT is, not all clients want to tackle their depression using CBT. Some people just want their symptoms gone as quickly and as easily as possible and prefer medication.
• In a study of client preference, Yrondi found that depressed people rated CBT as their least preferred psychological therapy.
• This raises the ethical issue of client choice and suggests that people, even those who are depressed, should have the right to choose their therapy even if it may not be the one with the best evidence.