The Cognitive Approach To Depression Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is the focus of the cognitive approach?
Emphasises how thinking shapes our behaviour and how irrational thinking leads to a mental disorder
What did beck suggest about depression?
Depressed individuals feel as they do because their thinking is biased towards negative interpretations of the world and they lack a perceived sense of control
How does faulty information processing explain depression?
Depressed individuals tend to focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. They also tend to blow small problems out of proportion (black and white thinking)
How do negative self schemas explain depression?
Negative self schemas cause us to interpret all information about ourselves in a negative way
What is becks negative triad?
When a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of 3 types of negative thinking that occur automatically
*a negative view of the world
*a negative view of the self
* a negative view of the future
What did Ellis suggest about the cause of depression?
Good mental health is a result of rational thinking and conditions like anxiety and depression are caused by irrational thoughts
What is Ellis’s ABC model?
The model explains how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state.
It has 3 stages:
1. Activating event
2. Beliefs
3. Consequences
Describe what is meant by activating event in the ABC model
Irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
Describe what is meant by beliefs in the ABC model
Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs
These beliefs (‘musts’) need to be challenged in order to improve mental health
What is musterbation?
The belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection
Describe what is meant by consequences in the ABC model
When an activating even triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences
What are the strengths of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
Support for the role of irrational thinking — supported by research from Bates et al who found that depressed participants who were given negative automatic-thought statements became more and more depressed
Practical application — cognitive explanations have been applied to CBT
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
The fact that there is a link between negative thoughts and depression does not mean that negative thoughts cause depression
It doesn’t explain all aspects of depression. Beck and Ellis cannot explain why some people suffer from hallucinations and bizarre beliefs
Ellis Blames the client rather than situational factors (may have ethical issues). It doesn’t explain how life events or family problems may have contributed to the mental disorder
What happens during CBT?
It begins with an assessment in which the patient and the therapist work together to clarify the patients problems. They identify goals and put together a plan to achieve them
They work to change negative and irrational thoughts and put more effective behaviours in place
What is one of the main aims of CBT?
To get patients to a point where they can work out their own ways of tackling their problems
What is CBT the application of?
Becks negative triad theory
What does REBT extend the ABC model to?
An ABCDE model (adds dispute and effect)
What is the main technique of REBT?
To identify and dispute irrational thoughts
The goal is to change the irrational belief and so break the link between negative life events and depression does
What different methods of disputing did Ellis identify?
Empirical argument - disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief
Logical argument - disputing wether the negative thought logically follows from the facts
What is behavioural activation?
Alongside the cognitive aspects of CBT the therapist may also work together encourage a depressed patient to be more active and engage in enjoyable activities.
What are the strengths of the cognitive approach to treating depression
CBT is effective — a study by March et al shows after 36 weeks 81% of the CBT group were significantly improved
CBT is as effective as antidepressants
REBT looks at past experiences aswell
There is support for behavioural activation — Babyak et al studied 156 adult volunteers diagnosed with major depressive disorder. They were randomly assigned to a four month course of either exercise, drugs or a combination. Those in the exercise group had significantly lower relapse rates than the medication groups
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach to treating depression
CBT may not work for the most severe cases. — some suffering from severe depression cannot motivate themselves to engage with the hard cognitive work
More people opt for antidepressants as they are quicker and cheaper
CBT focuses on the ‘here and now’ however some patients may want to explore their past
CBT over emphasises cognition. It focuses on what’s happening in the mind however the negative thoughts may also be down to circumstances
Both therapies take a long time and take a lot of dedication from the patient
