Depression Flashcards
what is depression
a disorder that includes disabling moods
give 3 behavioural characteristics of depression
- activity levels
- disruption to sleep and eating
- aggression and self harm
explain 3 emotional characteristics of depression
- lowered mood - people with depression often describe themselves as “empty”
- anger - they frequentl experience anger, this is directed at the self or others
- lowered self esteem - people with depression tend to report reduced self esteem, this can be quite extreme
give 3 cognitive characteristics of depression
- poor concentration
- attending and dwelling on the negative
- absolutist thinking
what are the 2 explanations of depression
- becks theory of depression
- ellis’ ABC model
becks theory of depression
what are the 3 elements of becks theory of depression
- negative self schemas
- cognitive biases
- the negative triad
becks theory of depression
explain the negative self schema element
- if a person has a negative self schema then they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way
becks theory of depression
explain the cognitive biases element
give two types
- this is where people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives
- overgeneralisation - sweeping conclusions drawn on the basis of a single event. Eg, a student regarding poor performance on one test as proof of his worthlessness
- magnification and minimisation - exaggerations in evaluation of performance. Eg, a man believing hes ruined hiscar due to a small scratch (magnification) or a woman believing herself worthless despite many praises (minimisation)
becks theory of depression
explain the negative triad element
- beck concluded that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of thinking
- negative thoughts about:
- the self
- the world
- the future
becks theory of depression
what is a strength of becks theory
cohen et al
- concluded assessing cognitive vulnerability allows us to screen young people
- this helps identify who are at most risk for developing depression for earlier intervention
becks theory of depression
what is a weakness of becks theory
ignores biological factors so can be considered a reductonist way of explaining depression
ellis’ ABC model
explain the A element in the ABC model
activating event
- irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
ellis’ ABC model
explain the B element in the ABC model
beliefs
- you hold irrational beliefs about the event
ellis’ ABC model
explain the C element in the ABC model
consequences
- when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs, there are emotional and behavioural consequences
ellis’ ABC model
what is a strength of the ABC model
development of therapies such as REBT
ellis’ ABC model
what is a weakness of the ABC model
only explains retroactive depression not endogenous depression
what are the 2 treatents of depression
- CBT
- REBT
explain the process of CBT
- the client and the therapist work together to clarify the clients problems
- they jointly identify goals and make a plan to acheive them
- test the reality of the clients negative beliefs
- the client is set homework,somestimes refered to as the “client as the scientist”
explain the study that supports CBT
march et al
- compared CBT to antidepressants and a combination of the two when treating teens
- 81% CBT group, 81% antidepressant group and 86% of combined group improved
explain the study that argues against CBT
Ali et al, 2017
- assessed clients monthly for 12 months after CBT
- 42% relapsed in 6 months
- 53% relapsed within 12 months
explain stage 1 of REBT
- identify and make sense of irrational beliefs
- reframe the negative thoughts into more positive and logical thoughts
explain stage 2 of REBT
- behavourial activation and pleasant event scheduling are introduced
- this increases physical activity and participation in rewarding activities for the client
- this is to improve the clients mood levels
explain stage 3 of the REBT
- cognitive factors are adressed when patients have an improvement in mood
- this involves hypothesis testing of negative thoughts
