Depression Flashcards
What does despression affect
Emotions
What % of the population suffer from depression
20%
How many symptoms must you how and for how long to be diagnosed with depression
At least 5 symptoms that must be apparent for at least 2 weeks
Behaviourla cahrateristics of depression
Weight changes and loss of energy
Cognitive chracteristics of deprssions
Reduced concentration and suicidal thoughts
Emotional charatcterists of depression
Constant depressive mood ad lack of Enthusiam
What approach is used to explain and treat depression
Cognitive
What causes depression
Caused by faulty cognitions such as irrational beliefs as behaviour is caused by cognitions.
What are the modle cognitive models used to explain depression
- becks negative triad
- ellis’ ABC model
What did becks model suggest
Depression was due to negative thinking patterns and ppl tend to deveopl depression beacsue they have a tendency to think in negative ways about themesleve, the future and the world
What are negative views base of
- negative schemas
- cognitive bias
What is a schema
- knowledge structure
- based on our own experiences and they lead us to have exceptions and belief’s about ourself and others and things happening around the world
How do negative schemas develop
- traumatic experience in our childhood lead to the development of negative schemas
Exsample of negative schemas
- self balme schemas = makes depressives feel responsible for their actions
What are cognitive bias
Negative schemas lead to cognitive biases
- in the way we perceive our behaviour an that of others causing misinterpretations of reality
- These cognitive biases serve to confirm and strength our negative schemas.
Exsamples of cognitive bias
Arbitrary interference = drawing conclusions about oneself without sufficient information
How is the depression maintained in the negative triad
The depressives negatives schemas, cognitive biases and behaviour maintains the traid and therefor depression
What is ellis’ ABC model
Cause of depression is irrational thought patterns and the tendancys to interpret events in a irrational way
Describe ellis ABC model
- an inivudas interpretation cause depression
- interpretation of event can lead irrational or rational belief
- someone with a stern of irrational interpretations will contumely show undesirable emotions and behaviour =depression
What do rational beliefs lead to
Desirable emotions and behaviours
What do irrational beliefs lead to
Lead to desirable emotions and behaviours
Supporting evidence for becks negative traid
Boury et al
- monitored students negative thoughts with the becks depression inventory
- finding that depressives misinterpret fact in a negative fashion and feel hopeless about the future
- supporting becks cognitive explanation
A b c stand for in Ellis abc model
A = ctiivating event
B = belief of why event happen = irrational or rational
C = consequence = emotional response and resulting behaviour
Weakness of explanation of depression
Beck = correlation link between negative thinking and depression
- therefor cannot know if negative thinking cause the symptoms of depression
- criticised for separating negative thinking into 3 separate dimension
- research has found no clear separation instead a single 1 dimensional negative perception of self
Strengths of explantion of depression
- other explanations have been taken into account eg genes/development and early experiences to explain why some people have developed negative thinking = depression
- therapies based on cognitive explanations and have been proven effective strength in assumption disorder may be due to a faulty cognition
What therapy is used to treat depression
Cognitive - behavioural therapy (CBT)
What does CBT aim to do
Change negative and irrational beliefs underlining depression and replacing them with more positive ones
Most common type of CBT
Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REPT)
3 phases of REPT
- education phase
- behavioural activation and pleasant event scheduling
- Hypothesis testing
Education phase
- uses Ellis ABC model
- clients learn the relationship between thoughts, emotions and behaviour
- irrational belifs identified
- they are then challenged by suggesting more rational and healthy beliefs = reframing
Behavioural activation and pleasant event scheduling
- encourged to increase physical activity and socilaise
- improves energy levels
Hypothesis testing
- goals set fo clients to achieve between session
- involve challenging irrational thoughts
- therapist only set achievable goals as failure would reinforce the clients negative schemas
Strengths of treating depression
- effective at stopping mild depression from developing into serve depression
- advantages of drug threats
- fewer side effects
- longer term benefits as techniques used in further in order to stop symptoms returning
Weaknesses of treating depression
- has to use well trained therapists = NHS doesn’t always have sufficient trained professional to provide face to face sessions for patients
- ethical concerns over the power that therapists have over patients to influence their thinking and patient my become to dependant on therpist
Supporting research for drug therapies
Hollen et al
- effectiveness of CBT compared to drug therapies
- 40% moderate to serve treated 16 weeks relapsed CBT
- 45% rated drug therapies relapsed
- 80% treated placebo relapsed
- CBT slightly more effective than biological treatments eg drugs and far better than no treatment
