Cognitive Approach- CBT

Question 1

Main Components

Answer 1

-A combination of cognitive and behavioural strategies
-Challenge irrational thoughts and change the behaviour in response to these thoughts.
-A clinical psychologist will help generate goals and create a plan to put more effective behaviours in place to highlight the irrational of beliefs and then challenge them.
-The cognitive element= therapist and client identify negative thoughts
-The behaviourist element= therapist encourages client to engage in reality testing. Roleplay or homework.
-How the approach is used in therapy- cognitive restructuring
To challenge the irrational thoughts, a patient will need to change their personalities of the world around them. This is achieved by the therapist questioning the evidence base for the clients’ perceptions known as ‘therapy during therapy’.

Question 2

How the approach is used in therapy:

Answer 2

Change the schemas
Beck proposed that depressed people have developed a negative triad. Change the negative schemas, change the way the client responds to the world.

Question 3

Activities and Homework throughout

Answer 3

Dysfunctional thought diary: Clients are required to keep a record of all events leading up to unpleasant emotions. They then record the automatic thoughts that occur and rate how much they believe them. Next clients right a rational response to the thoughts and rate their belief in rational response. Finally, clients should rerate their beliefs in the automatic thoughts.

Pleasant activity scheduling
This involves taking a set period of time. Having something positive or distracting from negative thinking patterns. This technique involves asking clients to keep a record of the experience, how they felt.

Question 4

Evaluation Research:

Answer 4

• Cahill et al (2003) by the end of the therapy which lasted 12-20 sessions, 71% of patients who had completed their therapy experienced significant reduction in symptoms. However, only 13% of the patients who did not complete the therapy showed improvement.
• Jarrett et al (1999) found that CBT was as effective as some anti-depressants when treating 108 patients with severe depression over a 10-week trial.
• However, Hollon et al (1992) found no difference in CBT and anti-depressants in a sample of 109 patients over a 10-week trial.
• David & Avelino (2003) found that CBT has the highest overall success rate of all therapies.
• However, Kyken & Tsivikos (2009) up to 15% of the effectiveness of CBT may be attributed to the competence up to the therapist.

Question 5

Evaluation Individual Difference:

Answer 5

Simons et al (1995), CBT has limited use where mental illness is caused by a real-life stressor. Stress or depression is a reasonable response to a stressful life event.
This is a weakness of CBT; CBT might just treat the symptoms of a mental illness rather than the cause. Someone may receive CBT for stress, but as soon as therapy is over, the cause of the stress is still pressed, and so the mental illness may return.

Question 6

Ethical Issues

Answer 6

• CBT might put the blame for the mental illness and the patients may feel worse than they already do and reduce their self-esteem.
• Patients with depression are more likely to have low self-esteem anyway and are also more likely to already hold several self-controls, self-blaming thoughts.
• CBT might make the person’s issues worse.