CBT Flashcards
How the cognitive assumptions be applied to CBT?
Our thoughts influence our emotions and behaviours.
Psychological disorders are due to “faulty” or “irrational” thinking.
Internal processes impact our behaviour.
It’s for the therapist to identify and modify the “abnormal” thought processes and change the client’s perception of the world which will “eliminate” their illness.
Schemas also influence how we respond to the world.
What’s the main idea of CBT?
Combines both cognitive and behavioural techniques to aid their client in reaching a rational and considered conclusion to their individual problems.
What’s the cognitive element?
The therapist works with the client to identify the negative thoughts that are contributing to the problem.
How do negative self-schemas link to depression?
Individuals’ prone to depression are considered to be more likely to have a negative schema about themselves.
These may be acquired in childhood but may be adjusted later in life due to other negative experiences.
What is Beck’s cognitive triad?
Negative views about oneself.
Negative views about the world.
Negative views about the future.
What are the six cognitive distortions?
Selective abstraction.
Minimisation.
Personalisation.
Arbitrary inference.
Magnification.
Overgeneralisation.
What is the definition of selective abstraction?
Drawing conclusions on the basis of just one of many elements of a situation.
What’s the definition of minimisation?
Downplaying the importance of a positive thought, emotion or event.
What’s the definition of personalisation?
Attributing personal responsibility for events which aren’t under a person’s control.
What’s the definition of arbitrary inference?
Drawing conclusions when there is little or no evidence.
What’s the definition of magnification?
“Making a mountain out of a molehill” – blowing things out of proportion.
What’s the definition of overgeneralisation?
Making sweeping conclusions based on a single event.
What’s the behavioural element?
Therapist encourages the client to engage in reality testing, either during the session or as homework.
What are the key points for cognitive restructuring?
Taught how to challenge dysfunctional automatic thoughts outside of therapy by asking themselves two questions:
“Where’s the evidence for X?”
“What’s the worst that can happen if X is true?”
By answering these questions, the negative thoughts can be replaced by more positive constructive ones.
What are the key points for pleasant activity scheduling?
Asked to plan one activity that they will engage with each day over a period of time.
Could be something that gives us a sense of accomplishment or something that will involve a break from a normal routine.
Engaging with these activities will induce more positive emotions and focusing on new things will distract from negative thinking patterns.
This is an example of a behavioural activation technique – helping clients change their behaviour.
The client is asked to keep a record of the experience, noting how they felt and what the specific circumstances were.
If it didn’t go as planned, the client is encouraged to explore why and what could be done to change it.
What are the key points for dysfunctional thought diaries?
Clients are asked to keep a diary of thoughts and feelings associated with any negative events.
They’re asked to pay particular attention to any automatic negative thoughts.
For each negative thought they have to rate how much they believe this. (From 0 – 100%)
They then give a rational response to this thought and rate their belief in that.
Finally, they then rerate their belief in the automatic thought.
What did Jarrett et al (1999) find?
CBT was as effective as some antidepressant drugs when treating 108 patients with severe depression over a 10-week trial.
What did Hollon et al (1992) find?
No difference in CBT when compared with a slightly different kind of antidepressant drug in a sample of 107 patients over a 10-week trial.
What is the therapist competence evaluation point?
Influences the effect of CBT.
Competencies in CBT include:
Ability to structure sessions.
Ability to plan and review assignments.
Application of relaxation skills.
Ability to engage and foster good therapeutic relations.
What does Kuyken and Tsivrikos (2009) claim?
As much as 15% of the variance in outcomes of CBT effectiveness may be attributable to therapist competence.
What is individual differences evaluation point?
May be more suitable for some people compared to others.
Therefore, individual differences need to be taken into consideration when examining effectiveness.
What did Simons et al (1995) suggest?
CBT appears to be less suitable for people who have high levels of irrational beliefs that are both ridged and resistant to change.
It also appears to be less suitable in situations where high levels of stress in the individual reflect realistic stressors in the person’s life that therapy can’t resolve.
What’s the empowerment evaluation point?
Empowers clients to develop their own coping strategies and recognises that people have free will to do this.
CBT has become an increasingly popular alternative to drug therapy, particularly for people who couldn’t cope with the determinist principles of these approaches.
For example:
They dislike the idea that their behaviour is caused by their biological make-up / the past.
What’s the “patient blame” evaluation point?
Assumes that the client is responsible for their disorder.
While this is a positive thing in that they’re empowered to change the way they think (free will), there are also disadvantages.
For example:
Important situational factors may be overlooked which are contributing to the disorder, such as family problems or life event that the client isn’t in a position to change.
Therefore, “blaming” the individual for the way they feel isn’t necessarily helpful because it may take other aspects of their life to change in order to help them feel better.
What is the “What is rational?” evaluation point?
While some thoughts may seem irrational to a therapist, resulting in the client feeling they must change them, they in fact may not be that irrational.
What did Alloy and Abrahamson (1979) suggest?
Depressive realists tend to see things for what they are, and “normal” people have a tendency to distort things in a positive way.
They found that depressed people display the sadder but wiser effect and that they were more accurate in their estimates of the likelihood of “disaster” than non-depressed individuals.
What’s the CBT and self-esteem evaluation point?
CBT may damage self-esteem, an example of psychological harm.
