PP - depression Flashcards
what are the 2 main types of depression
unipolar and bipolar disorder
what is unipolar depression
person experiences one mood - being down
what is bipolar depression
person experiences many moods - up and down alot (unpredictable)
what are the requirements for a diagnosis of depression
display five symptoms of:
- weight change, sleeping change, lack of energy, thoughts of self-harm and suicide
everyday for at least 2 weeks
what are the DSM-5 categories of depression
- major depressive disorder
- persistent depressive disorder
- disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
- premenstrual dysphoric disorder
what is major depressive disorder
server and short term depression
what is persistent depressive disorder
long-term and recurring depression
what is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
where children/teens have ongoing irritability, anger and intense outbursts
what is premenstrual dysphoric disorder
disruption to mood prior to female menstruation
what are the behavioural changes during depression
- loss of appetite
- say negative things
- down all the time
- self-medicating (alcohol, drugs)
what are the emotional changes during depression
- feeling empty
- loss in pleasure in regular activities
- irritable
- constant exhaustion
- isolation
what the cognitive changes during depression
- memory loss
- shame and guilt
- distorted thinking
- difficulty concentrating
comparing B, E, C of phobias, depression and OCD
who are the key psychologists in the cognitive approach the depression
Beck and Ellis
what is the cognitive explanation of depression
- how irrational and faulty thinking leads to depression
- everything occurs due to internal mental processes
what are the key assumptions of the cognitive approach
individuals who suffer from mental disorder have distorted and irrational thinking - which may cause maladaptive behaviours
what are the 3 parts of Beck’s cognitive triad
1 - negative self-schemas
2 - faulty information processes (cognitive bias)
3 - negative triad
1 - what are self-schemas
a package of ideas that we have about ourselves
1 - what might people believe about themselves if they have negative self-schemas
- low self-worth
- no one likes them
- never be good enough
- very insecure
1 - how did weissman and Beck investigate the thought processes of depressed people to establish their use of negative self-schemas
- measured thought processes with Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS)
- questionnaire contain yes or no boxes with a set of statements
1 - what were the results of the DAS questionnaire
depressed pts made more negative self assessments than non-depressed people
1 - evaluation of the DAS
+ had a control group so could make comparisons
- self-report (demand characteristics)
- closed questions - no elaboration
2 - what did Beck propose depressed people tend to selectively attend to
- negative aspects of a situation and ignore positive aspects
- you are either a success or a failure - no inbetween (black and white thinking)
2 - what are the 5 cognitive biases
- overgeneralization
- personalisation
- selective abstraction
- magnification
- minimization
2 - what is overgeneralization
general conclusion based on a single occurrence e.g. this always happens to me, I am useless
2 - what is personalisation
negative feelings of others are attributed to something about you e.g. someone didn’t say hi when they walked past so they must not like me
2 - what is selective abstraction
focus on one negative aspect, overlooking aspects leading to a positive conclusion e.g. everything goes well in an interview but you focus on one bad thing
2 - what is magnification
exaggerating significance of events e.g. I couldn’t do one thing so I am hopeless at everything
2 - what is minimisation
underplaying positive events and outcomes e.g. it was a fluke
3 - what is the negative triad
negative schemas, together with cognitive biases maintain the negative triad
- negative view of the self
- negative view of the world
- negative view of the future
3 - what does the negative triad look like
what does negative self-schemas + cognitive biases + negative triad =
THE COGNITIVE TRIAD
strengths of Beck’s theory
- practical application through CBT
- accounts for individual differences
- good supporting evidence
limitations of Beck’s theory
- does not explain all the aspects of depression like biology or the environment
what is Ellis’s belief about depression
- depressives mistakenly blame external events for their unhappiness
- irrational thinking leads to depression
what are Ellis’ 3 beliefs
- I must be thoroughly competent and successful in everything I do
- other must treat me kindly and fairly, and if they do not they are awful who deserved to be punished
- the world must give me happiness, or else life is unbearable
what are Ellis’ ABC
A - an Action is affected by
B - an individual’s Belief which results in
C - a Consequence
what occurs in Beliefs are subject to cognitive biases
they can cause irrational thinking which may produce undesirable behaviours
what are the strengths of Ellis’ theory
- practical application through therapy (irrational and negative beliefs can be challenged)
- nurture is taken into account
limitations of Ellis’ theory
- only offers partial explanation (some depression occurs due to activating event)
- does not explain all aspects of depression (anger)
- beliefs that ‘seem’ irrational may not actually be irrational
what are the 2 types of cognitive treatments
CBT (Beck) and REBT (Ellis)
characteristics of CBT
- cognitive behavioural therapy
- develop by Beck
- intended to be brief (20 sessions over 16 weeks)
- focuses on the here and the now
what does CBT aim to do
identify and alter negative beliefs and later dysfunctional behaviours that contribute to depression
what strategies are used in CBT
- behavioural action
- homework
- thought catching
- cognitive restructuring
what is behavioural action
- focuses on encouraging the client to become more active
- things that are rewarding for the client are “antidote” to depression
- gives the client opportunity to practice challenging negative thoughts associated with pleasurable activities
- these events should be scheduled
what is homework in CBT
- clients are asked to complete ACHIEVABLE tasks between sessions - need to be achievable or else failure would reinforce ineptness
what is thought catching
the client is encouraged to identify and record their automatic negative thoughts and consider how they could be challenged
what is cognitive restructuring
restructuring negative thoughts to overcome cognitive distortions and biases
what are clients asked to complete for cognitive restructuring
thought log: event, thought, consequence, rational counterstatement
evidence for effectiveness of CBT - Derubeis (2005)
Derubeis (2005) studied three groups: CBT, SSRIs, placebo
After 8 weeks improvements was: CBT - 43%, SSRIs - 50%, placebo - 25%
evidence for CBT effectiveness - Kupfer (2001)
claims the most effective form of treatment is CBT and antidepressants
what does REBT stand for
Rational emotional behavioural therapy
what is REBT
- people are not disturbed by things but rather their view of things
- REBT involves making irrational and negative thoughts more rational and positive
- extends the ABC to ABCDEF
what does the ABCDEF model stand for
Action
Belief
Consequence
Dispute
Effect
Feelings
what is disputing
REBT argues that it isn’t the activating event but the beliefs - sp disputing tries to change the beliefs
what are the 3 types of disputing
- logical disputing - does thinking this make sense?
- empirical disputing - where is the evidence for the belief?
- pragmatic disputing - how is this belief likely to help you?
HOW does the process of challenging irrational thoughts treat depression
1 - effective disputing changes in beliefs - self-defeating to rational
2 - the client moves from catastrophizing activating events to more rational interpretations
3 - this helps the client to feel better and become more self-accepting
how are CBT and REBT similar and different
strengths of CBT and REBT
- CBT is effective for treating depression
- subjective to individual experience
- better than drugs as have no side effects
limitations of CBT and REBT
- lacks effectiveness for severe cases and people with learning disabilities
- only works if client is motivated
- it has high relapse rates - semipermanent
