4.1.4 - Depression Flashcards

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1
Q

How many people in the uk have diagnosed depression

A

16% of the uk

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2
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of depression.

A
  • lowered mood
  • anger/ irritable
  • low self esteem
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3
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of depression

A
  • poor concentration
  • absolutist thinking ( always, nothing, never etc..)
  • dwelling in the negative
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4
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of depression

A
  • aggression and self harm
  • self mediation( drugs, alcohol etc..)
  • lower activity levels
  • disruption to sleeping and eating behaviour
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5
Q

What are the cognitive explanations used to explain depression

A
  • cognitive explanations focus on the notion that the way in which people think can lead to depression
  • Beck: idea that negative thinking leads to depression
  • Ellis: idea that irrational thinking leads to depression
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6
Q

What is Becks theory of depression

A
  • negative self schemas ( the views that people hold about themselves )
  • these could come from negative experiences or can develop during childhood ( eg: due to criticism from parents)
  • negative self schemas can include an ineptness schema which leads sufferers to believe that they will always fail
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7
Q

What does beck say about cognitive biases

A
  • beck found that those with depression were more likely to focus on the ensure aspects of situations while ignoring the positive
  • these biases result in information being distorted and can include the ideas of overgeneralisation and catastrophising
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8
Q

list 4 cognitive biases

A
  • overgeneralisations
  • catastrophising
  • arbitrary influence
  • selective abstraction
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9
Q

What is arbitrary influence

A

When a conclusion is drawn without sufficient evidence

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10
Q

What is selective attraction

A

A cognitive bias where detail is taken out of context and believed

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11
Q

What is becks negative triad

A

Beck suggested that the negative self schemas and cognitive biases held maintain the cognitive (negative) triad.
- the three points of the triangle include the world, the future, and the self
- negative views on any of these aspects will lead to negative views on the other points of the triad

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12
Q

What is Ellis’ explanation for depression

A
  • Ellis suggested that irrational thinking leads to pain and sadness
  • he created the ABC model
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13
Q

What is the ABC model

A
  • Activating event : the external event that impacts us
  • Belief: the activating event triggers an irrational belief
  • Consequence: these beliefs lead to consequences which is depression
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14
Q

What is ellis’ mustabatory thinking

A

The idea that certain assumptions or beliefs must be true in order for an individual to be happy
- eg: I MUST be approved or accepted by the people that I find important to be happy
- this thinking must be challenged in order for mental health to improve

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15
Q

Explanations of depression A03: not a full explanation

A
  • when diagnosed with depression, may people report feeling intense anger
  • beck and Ellis explanations cannot explain this, meaning their explanations are too simplistic
  • not all emotional processes are acknowledged so not all cognitive aspects are explained
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16
Q

Explanations of depression A03: client blaming

A
  • Ellis has been accused of client blaming as he says depression is only caused by their own irrational thinking
  • this is a limitation because the station all factors of the individual are overlooked ( eg: financial, family, health situations)
  • if an individual laces the blame on the,selves they may not feel motivated to seek help ( reinforced the -ve thoughts people have about themselves)
  • irrational thoughts are also subjective, so the individual may not believe that their thoughts are irrational in the first place
  • However client blaming could be a strength because if individuals believe they are the only factor stopping them from being cured, they could be more motivated to seek help as they are in full control
  • the treatment is less overwhelming and therefore easier to manage
17
Q

Explanations of depression A03: successful treatments

A
  • both beck and elllis have developed successful treatments
    (CBT and REBT)
  • because these therapies are used as treatment in real life, it gives both explanations practical application
  • the therapies were also based on beck and Ellis’ theories so the theirs must also be correct so therefore also have explanatory power
18
Q

Explanations of depression: zhang eg al (2005)

A
  • zhang et al (2005) found low levels of serotonin in depresses people and found a gene relates to this which was 10x more common in people with depression
  • this is a limitation because the cognitive explanations ignore all biological factors which could potentially cause depression
  • therefore if a patients depression is caused by biological factors, beck and Ellis’ methods of treatment will not be very useful.
  • both cognitive and biological explanations could be used together to produce the most effective methods of treatment .
  • this holistic approach has been shown to be more effective as when patients lack motivation the drugs help them to temporarily overcome this
19
Q

Explanations of depression A03: Ellis doesn’t explain all types of depression

A
  • the ABC model suggests that all depression occurs due to an activating effect
  • this is a limitation because this explanation cannot be used to explain endogenous depression where the depression isn’t traceable to life events.
  • this decreases the explanatory power of the explanation as it is only a partial explanation for depression
  • people could have genetic disposition( vulnerability) to certain genes which make depression more likely.
20
Q

Explanations of depression A03: sadder but wiser effect

A
  • Alloy ad abrahamson (1979) found that people with depression gave more accurate estimates about the likelihood of disaster than non depressed people ( they have a more accurate /realistic perception of life
  • this is a limitation because it suggests that people with depression could have ore realistic mindsets and are more able to accept negative events
  • This challenges Becks explanation as he claims that people with depression have overly negative and extreme views.
21
Q

How to beck and Ellis believe depression should be treated

A

Beck: need to change negative thinking to be more positive through CBT
Ellis: need to change irrational thinking to more rational through REBT

—> thoughts create feelings —> feelings create behaviour—-> behaviour reinforces thoughts—

22
Q

What is CBT ( and what strategies are used)

A

Cognitive behavioural therapy
- intended to be brief 10/20 sessions
- focuses on the present (here and now)

Strategies:
1) behavioural activation
2) homework
3) thought catching
4) cognitive restructuring

23
Q

What is behavioural activation (CBT)

A
  • focuses on engaging the client to become more active and engage in pleasurable activities
  • these are rewarding for the clients and are “antidote” to depression
  • it is an opportunity to practice challenging negative thoughts that have been associated with these activities.
  • event planning is used as it increases the chance of the activity actually being completed

Eg: exercise has been shown to be just as effective as drug therapies

24
Q

What is homework (CBT)

A
  • clients are asked to complete homework between sessions in order to test irrational beliefs about reality
  • therapists must set tasks that are achievable as they don’t want to reinforce the negative views the patient already has of themselves
  • the therapist may ask the client to keep a record/diary of the tasks which provides an evidence base that their previous thinking was negative or irrational
25
Q

What is thought catching (CBT)

A
  • the therapist encourages the client to identify and record their automatic negative thoughts and consider how they may change these
  • the speculation is negative and irrational, so the therapists focus on only on the factual elements
26
Q

What is cognitive reconstructing (CBT)

A
  • restructure negative thoughts to overcome cognitive distortions and biases
27
Q

What is REBT

A

Rational emotional behaviour therapy
- psychological problems occur as a result of irrational thinking, so by changing g the thinking it changes the emotions which drives behaviour
- it is an extended Verdon of the ABC model- ABCDEF

28
Q

What does the ‘def’ stand for I’m the ABCDEF model

A

Dispute irrational thoughts and beliefs
Effects of disputing and effective attitude to life
Feelings that are produced

29
Q

What does ellis say about worth

A
  • Ellis values worth, so if we have conditions of worth places onto us we will be psychologically unhealthy
  • he stated that we need to feel worth in order to see our worth which helps us feel better
  • the feeling of worthlessness is removed by unconditional positive reward
30
Q

Treatments for depression A03: individual differences

A

Simon et al (1995)
- stated that CBT is less suitable for those experiencing high levels of stress which is linked to realistic stressors in their environments/ lives
- these stressors cannot be easily resolved, so changing their thinking will not have a large impact

limitation because CBT doesn’t take into account individual differences, so isn’t effective for all people

31
Q

Treatments for depression A03: behavioural activation

A

babyak et al(2000)
- 156 adult volunteers with major depression were randomly assigned to a 4 month treatment course of either: exercise, drug treatment, combination
- all 3 groups showed significant improvements however the combination group showed the largest
- this suggests that the behavioural activation aspect of CBT is very effective
- a strength as it gives the treatment research support

32
Q

Treatments for depression A03: Biological treatments

A

drugs can be a referable treatment option for some clients
- they are easy, less effort and don’t require time commitments
- they are cost effective ( CBT is up to £120 p/h and drugs prescriptions are cheap)
- drugs are discrete, so avoid all potential shame/ anxiety

33
Q

Treatments for depression A03: economic effects

A
  • mental health problems cost the uk economy £120 billion per year
  • so has large economical opportunity costs
  • however when suffering from mental health problems, people are likely to take time off work
  • this leads to an increase in unemployment and therefore more people are claiming benefits, which lowers the govs revenue from income tax also
  • if funding is put into CBT and drug therapies, people are able to return to work, so the opportunity cost is worthwhile