Psychological Interventions

Question 1

What is exposure therapy

Answer 1

Treat phobias through exposure to the feared CS (i.e. car) in the absence of the UCS (i.e. accident)
Response prevention is used to keep the operant avoidant response from occurring

Question 2

What is exposure therapy effective for and why is it controversial

Answer 2

Highly effective for reducing anxiety responses

Controversial because intense temporary anxiety is created by treatment

Question 3

What is exposure therapy’s Basis in Learning Theory

Answer 3

Influenced by both classical and operant conditioning approaches

Question 4

What is the basic idea of cognitive therapy

Answer 4

Identify the nature of thoughts: they don’t have to be true to affect emotions
Learn about common biases in thoughts
Treat thoughts as “guesses” or “hypotheses” about the world

Question 5

What are the key symptoms of depression

Answer 5

Depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure
Loss of appetite
Insomnia or Hypersomnia nearly every day
Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day
Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt
Diminished ability to think or concentrate
Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide

Question 6

What are the treatment recommendations for depression

Answer 6

Do not use antidepressants routinely to treat persistent sub-threshold depressive symptoms or mild depression because the risk–benefit ratio is poor

Question 7

When should antidepressants be considered for therapy in depression

Answer 7

A past history of moderate or severe depression
Sub-threshold depressive symptoms present for a long time
Sub-threshold depressive symptoms or mild depression that persist(s) after other interventions

Question 8

What are people with depression who are considered to be at significant risk of relapse or who have residual symptoms offered

Answer 8

individual CBT

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

Question 9

Who is individual CBT for (depression)

Answer 9

For people who have relapsed despite antidepressant medication

For people with a significant history of depression and residual symptoms despite treatment

Question 10

Who is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for (depression)

Answer 10

For people who are currently well but have experienced 3 or more episodes of depression