Explaining Depression - AO3

Question 1

What are two strengths of beck’s model?

Answer 1

• P: Strength = supporting research
• E: Clark and Beck (1999) concluded that cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g faulty processing , negative self schema) are more common in depressed people
• E: A recent prospective study by Cohen et al. (2019) tracked 473 adolescents’ development and found that early cognitive vulnerability predicted later depression
• L: This shows that there is an association between cognitive vunerability and depression
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• P: Strength = real world application to screening for depression
• E: Assessing cognitive vulnerability in young people most at risk of developing depression means they can be monitored
• E: Understanding cognitive vulnerability is applied in CBT to alter conditions underlying depression, making a person more resillient to life events
• L: This means that the idea of cognitive vulnerability is useful in clinical practice

Question 2

What is a strength of Ellis’s model?

Answer 2

• P: Strength = Application in treating depression
• E: Ellis applied the ABC model to treat depression (rational emotive behaviour therapy REBT)
• E: Evidence that REBT can both change negative beliefs and relive the symptoms of depression (David et al. 2018)
• L: This means that REBT has real world value

Question 3

What is a limitation of Ellis’s model?

Answer 3

• P: Limitation = only explains reactive depression
• E: Reactive depression describes a form of depression which is triggered by negative activating events
• E: However, in many cases it is not obvious what triggers depression, described as endogenous depression. Ellis’s model is less useful in explaining this
• L: This means that Ellis’s model can only explain some cases of depression