Depression Flashcards
What are the BEHAVIOURAL characteristics of depression?
Change in activity levels
Disruption of sleep
Disruption to eating behaviour
Aggression
How might a person’s activity levels change due to depression?
Feel lethargic
Withdraw from activities they once enjoyed doing
Neglect personal hygiene
Increased activity levels/agitation
How might a person’s sleep be disrupted by depression?
Hypersomnia - too much sleep / fall asleep during the day
Insomnia - can’t sleep
How might a person’s eating behaviour change due to depression?
Eat too much and gain weight
Eat too little and lose weight
How might a person demonstrate aggression if depressed?
Very irritable
Physically / verbally aggressive - towards themselves or others
May perform self-harm
What are the EMOTIONAL characteristics of depression?
Low mood
Feeling of worthlessness
Anger - towards themselves or others
What are the COGNITIVE characteristics of depression?
Negative schema - negative views about themselves, the world and their future
Poor concentration
What are the cognitive explanations for depression?
The Negative Triad
The ABC Model
Who developed the Negative Triad?
Beck (1967)
What does Beck suggest about depression according to the negative triad?
People acquired negative schema
How does Beck (1967) suggest people may have developed negative schema?
From their childhood due to many factors:
Parental/Peer rejection
Criticism from teacher
What is the negative triad?
Negative view of the self
Negative view of the future
Negative view of the world
What does negative schema lead to?
Cognitive biases and overgeneralisation
E.g - “I am stupid” after failing 1 test
How is negative schema activated?
Whenever a person is in a new situation that resembles the original conditions in which the schema was learnt
What are the strengths for the Negative Triad?
Terry (2000) performed an experiment:
Assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability
Women with high cognitive vulnerability more likely to suffer from “post-partum depression”
Suggests negative/irrational thinking causes depression
What do the cognitive explanations for depression suggest?
People are more vulnerable to depression because of how they think
What are the weaknesses of the Negative Triad?
Cause and effect isn’t always clear
Doesn’t explain certain symptoms about depression
How is cause and effect not clear for the Negative Triad?
Could say irrational thoughts cause depression to develop
Can also say depression causes the patient to think negatively - depression comes first from a different source (genetics)
How does the Negative Triad not explain certain symptoms about depression?
Some depressed people are angry - negative triad doesn’t explain why
Doesn’t explain manic phases experienced by patients with bipolar disorder
Who developed the ABC Model?
Ellis (1962)
What does the ABC Model suggest?
Depression is caused by irrational beliefs
What does the ABC model explain?
How irrational and negative beliefs are formed
What are the steps for the ABC Model?
A - Activating event
B - Beliefs (rational or irrational)
C - Consequences (emotions caused by the belief)
What is a model example for the ABC Model?
Activating Event:
Being fired from work
Beliefs:
Rational - company was overstaffed
Irrational - they always hated me
Consequences:
Rational beliefs cause healthy emotions - ACCEPTANCE
Irrational beliefs cause unhealthy emotions - DEPRESSION
What is a strength of the ABC Model?
Bates (1999) had research support
He found that depressed participants given more negative though statements became more depressed
Supports idea that negative thinking and therefore the ABC model causes depression
What are the weaknesses of the ABC Model?
May give the client some power to change/improve situation of depression
BLAMES CLIENT FOR DEPRESSION
What are the Cognitive Treatments for Depression?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy
What is the aim of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Cognitive Restructuring - learning to identify, dispute and change irrational thoughts
What are the steps involving Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
- Thought catching - Identify Irrational thoughts / Negative Triad
- Patient as Scientist - patients generates a hypothesis to test the validity of their irrational thought
- Test the irrational thought
- Praise patient when they report positive (positive reinforcement)
How might a patient test their hypothesis of their irrational thought?
Gather data about behaviour/incidents and compare to hypothesis
Test irrational thoughts out in real world and evaluate evidence
Keep a diary to record events - identify situations where negative thinking occurs + target them
What is the aim of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy?
Challenge automatic negative thoughts and replace them with rational beliefs
Who developed Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy?
Ellis (1994)
What happens during Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy?
- Therapist uses logical arguments - show patient’s self-defeating beliefs are false
- Therapist uses empirical arguments - show patient’s self-defeating beliefs aren’t consistent with reality
- Tell patient to engage in behavioural activation
What is behavioural activation?
Be more active and take part in pleasurable activities - depressed patients don’t engage in activities they used to enjoy
What are the Strengths of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
2 research support:
March et al (2007)
David (2008)
What did March et al do to investigate CBT?
Examined 327 depressed adolescents
Look at effectiveness of CBT and antidepressants
81% CBT and the antidepressants groups both improved
86% combination group improved (it is better)
What did David (2008) find about CBT?
CBT is better than antidepressants in the long term
Compared 170 patients that underwent 14 weeks of CBT to patients on antidepressants (FLOUXETINE).
CBT patients less likely to relapse 6 months later
What are the weaknesses of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Requires commitment and motivation
Assumes root cause of depression is irrational thought process
Relies of patient
Why is CBT requiring commitment a weakness?
Many people with severe depression won’t engage with CBT - makes treatment ineffective
Patients more likely to use antidepressants
Why is it bad if CBT assumes root cause of depression is irrational thinking?
It ignores factors that may contribute to depression - e.g domestic abuse
CBT would be ineffective treating these patients until circumstances have changed
Why is it bad if CBT relies on the patient?
CBT relies of patients self-reporting their thought - cannot be objectively measured
Self-reports can be unreliable
Difficult to verify accuracy of reports
