5. The Cognitive Approach to Depression Flashcards
Key assumptions of the cognitive approach (depression)
- Individuals who suffer from mental health disorders (MHD) have distorted & irrational thinking - may cause maladaptive behaviour
- It is the way you think abt the problem rather than the problem itself which causes the MHD
- Individuals can overcome MHDs by learning to use more appropriate congitions. If ppl think in more +ve ways, they can be helped to feel better
What did Aaron Beck suggest (1967)
- Beck suggested that there is a cognitive explanation as to why some ppl are more vulnerable to depression than others
- He suggested 3 parts to this cognitive vulnerability:
1. faulty information processing
2. negative self-schemas
3. the negative triad
Aaron Beck: faulty information processing
- Beck believed that ppl who have depression make fundamental errors in logic
- He proposed that ppl who have depression, tend to selectively attend to the -ve aspects of a situation & ignore the +ve aspects
- Tendency to blow small problems out of proportion w thinking in terms of black & white, ignoring the middle ground; you are a success of a failure (rather than not good at some things but OK at others)
Aaron Beck: negative self-schema
- Ppl who have depression have developed negative self-schemas & therefore they interpret all the info abt themselves in a negative way
Aaron Beck: the negative triad
- Beck built on the idea of maladaptive responses, & suggested that ppl w depression become trapped in a cycle of -ve thoughts
- They have a tendency to view themselves, the world & the future in pessimistic ways - the triad of impairments
(negative view of the self, the world, the future)
What did Albert Ellis (1962) propose
- Proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking
- Argued that there are common irrational beliefs that underlie much depression, & sufferers have based their lives on these beliefs
eg. “I must be successful, competent & achieving in everything I do if I am to consider myself worthwhile”
What did Albert Ellis create
Ellis’ ABC model
What did Ellis’ ABC model suggest
(A) - an action is affected by
(B) - an individual’s beliefs which result in
(C) - a consequence
- If beliefs are subject to cognitive biases (in the same way as Becks) then they can cause irrational thinking which may produce undesirable behaviours
Ellis’ ABC model: Activating event - A
- Ellis focused on situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
- We have depression when we experience -ve events & these events trigger irrational beliefs
Ellis’ ABC model: Beliefs - B
- Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs
- We must always succeed or achieve perfection ‘musturbation’
- ‘I can’t-stand-it-itis’ - whenever smth does not go smoothly, it is a disaster
- Utopianism - life is always meant to be fair
Ellis’ ABC model: Consequences - C
- When an activating event triggers irrational beliefs, there are emotional & behavioural consequences
What is a cognitive treatment for depression
CBT
What does CBT stand for
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
What is CBT used for
A commonly used psychological treatment for depression/other mental health problems
eg. (anxiety, phobias, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder)
What is CBT
- A method for treating mental disorders based on both behavioural & cognitive techniques
- It is a way of talking (psychotherapy) abt:
- how you think abt yourself, the world & others
- how what you do affects your thoughts/feelings
What does the therapist aim to do in CBT
To make the client aware of the relationship between thought, emotion, & actions
Why is CBT beneficial
- Can help ppl to change how they think (‘cognitive’) & what they do (‘behaviour’). These changes can help them feel better
- Can help break the vicious circle of maladaptive thinking, feelings, behaviour
How does CBT relate to the cognitive techniques
From the cognitive POV, therapy aims to deal with the thinking, sa challenging negative thoughts
How does CBT relate to behavioural techniques
CBT includes behavioural techniques sa behavioural activation (encouraging patients to engage un those active there are avoiding)
What does CBT focus on
- Focuses on the ‘here and now’ problems, instead of focusing on the causes of distress or symptoms in the past. It looks for ways to improve the state of mind now
- When the parts of the sequences are clearly outlined & understood, they can be changed
- CBT aims to get the person to a point where they can ‘DIY’, & work out their own ways of tackling their problem
What does CBT involve (stages)
see goodnotes page 32
Two types of CBT
Beck’s CBT
Ellis’ CBT
What is Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Beck developed a therapy to challenge the negative triad (beliefs) of the client
Stages of Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
- First, client will be assessed to discover the severity of their conditions
- The therapist will establish a baseline (starting point), prior to treatment, to help monitor improvement
What does Beck’s Cognitive Therapy involve
- To feel better, you must think positively
- Client is asked to provide info abt how they perceive themselves, the future & the world
- Therapist would use a process of reality testing
eg. if client says ‘im useless, I always fail’, they will be asked whether in reality, they have been successful at smth
- The therapist might ask client to do smth to demonstrate their ability to succeed
What is Ellis’ CBT known as
Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
What does Ellis’ REBT do (in relation to ABC model)
REBT extends the ABC model to an ABCDE model
- D = Dispute (challenge the thoughts)
- E = Effect (see a more beneficial effect on thought & behaviour)
Therefore the central techniques of REBT is to identify & dispute the patient’s irrational thoughts
Ellis’ REBT: What does Ellis argue
Ellis (1962) argues that irrational thoughts are the main cause of all types of emotional distress & behaviour disorders
What is Ellis’ REBT based on
- REBT is based on the premise that whenever we become upset, it is not the events taking place in our lives that upset us; it is the beliefs that we hold that cause us to have depression, anxiety
- REBT challengers the client to ‘prove’ these statements, & then replace them w more reasonable realistic statements (empirical disputing/logical disputing)
Alternative explanations: Biological approach towards depression
The biological approach to understanding mental disorders suggests that genes & neurotransmitters may cause depression
Alternative explanations: Drug therapy
The success of drug therapies for treating depression suggest that neurotransmitters do play an important role; the medication alters the levels of specific neurotransmitters & reduces the symptoms
Alternative explanations: A diathesis-stress approach
Suggests that individuals w a genetic vulnerability for depression are more prone to the effects of living in a negative environment, which then leads to negative irrational thinking
