cbt (depression) Flashcards
cbt - what is it?
for depression
- Involves a client working with a therapist to target their negative/ irrational thoughts and behaviours through practical interventions
- Combination of sessions with therapists and ‘homework’ tasks
- Client learns skills which they can apply after treatment has finished to manage depression symptoms
cbt - how does it work?
for depression
- 1 hr weekly sessions for 3 months
- Therapist helps client to recognise and challenge irrational/ negative thoughts
- By reducing negative thoughts, this reduces negative emotions and behaviours
- Therapist educates client on how CBT works so they understand underlying mechanism/ theory
cbt - thought catching
for depression
- Keep diary
- Record activating events, beliefs about the events and consequences (emotional + behavioural responses)
- Therapist challenge negative belief + response by asking client for evidence
- When they can’t support their belief they change it to rational belief
cbt - behavioural activation
for depression
- Therapist sets client homework aimed at changing experiences
- Realistic, low-risk tasks
- Eg. meet friend for coffee = positive experience = boost self-esteem = repeat
- Eg. Get up and shower/ brush teeth = positive experience = feel better about self = repeat
cbt - supporting evidence
(depression)
P: Supporting evidence
E: Kuyken (2007) found CBT was effective in reducing symptoms of depression, suggesting there is construct validity to the cognitive explanation because CBT challenges cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs.
T: Therefore CBT is effective in tackling depression so is a valid treatment
cbt - contrasting evidence
(depression)
P: contrasting evidence
E: Hoffman (2012) found evidence that CBT was equally as effective as other psychological treatments, but not more effective
T:Therefore CTB is NOT EFFECTIVE
cbt - scientific supporting evidence
(depression)
P: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE - SCIENTIFIC
E: Williams (2013) showed combining CBM-I and iCBT can be effective - it reduced depression symptoms, anxiety and disability in people with unipolar depression.
T: CONTROL GROUP = INCREASES INTERNAL VALIDITY
cbt - contrasting evidence, effective to an extent
(depression)
P: CONTRASTING EVIDENCE = EFFECTIVE TO AN EXTENT
E: Chan (2006) found a combination of CBT and medication was more effective than just using CBT
T:NEEDS TO BE COMBINED – NOT AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT ON ITS OWN
cbt - no side effects
(depression)
P: No unpleasant physical ‘side effects’
E: Unlike drugs, therefore long term engagement is more likely
T: NO PHYSICAL HARM, LESS ETHICAL ISSUES
cbt - ethical issues
(depression)
P: Ethical issues
E: Blames the individual - it’s their thought processes which cause it - this could have negative effects on their self-esteem, and clients may find the process challenging and distressing.
T:PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
cbt - no issues with social control
(depression)
P: No issues with ‘Social control’
E: Gives people tools to deal with distorted thinking, rather than to passively take drugs for extended periods
T: Therefore it could be considered an empowering treatment
cbt - reductionist
(depression)
P: Reductionist
E: Reduces treating depression down to behaviour activation and thought catching therefore ignores the role of neurotransmitters (mono. hypo) meaning it isn’t holistic and may not be dealing with the cause, just the symptoms.
T: NOT HOLISTIC = LOWERS VALIDITY
cbt - conclusion
(depression)
In conc. cbt is an effective treatment, large numbers of people are helped in managing their symtpoms, however its only effective in subpopulations and requires more committment and effort than medication. to be more effective it should be used in combination with medication
