Psychopathology - cognitive treatment of depression Flashcards
What is very important to remember about the cognitive approach using CBT to treat depression?
You must write about CBT in direct relation to depression when answering a cognitive treatment of depression question. No generic info only info specific to depression
What is the treatment for depression suggested by the cognitive approach?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT
What is the general idea surrounding CBT?
The idea is to simultaneously tackle both cognition and behaviour.
How long does CBT last?
therapy is usually weekly or fortnightly sessions of either 30 mins or an our and lasting from 6 weeks to 6 months
What does CBT focus on?
the therapy focuses on the present though the therapist may ask about the past in case that has any bearing
What is an umbrella term?
A combination of cognition and behaviours - Treating mental disorders based on both behavioural and cognitive techniques. CBT can help people to change how they think (cognitive) and what they do (behaviour)
What is the aim of CBT for depression?
To help rationalise and challenge depressed patients’ irrational thinking as this can help remove the depressive states patients find themselves in.
What are the 4 steps used in CBT to treat depression?
Identifying negative thinking patterns in depressed patients
Challenging irrational thoughts of depressed patients
Skill acquisition and application
Follow-up
What is meant by ‘identifying negative thinking patterns in depressed patients’ as the first step of CBT ?
Depressed patients will fill out a self-report questionnaire to assess thoughts and feelings. room this, initial goals and a treatment plan are implemented
What is meant by challenging irrational thoughts of depressed patients as a step in the process of CBT for depression ?
Therapists seeks to challenge negative thoughts and present alternatives to the depressed individual. cognitive reframing as it show events in a more optimistic fashion
What happens during the ‘skill acquisition and application’ stage of CBT when treating depression?
Intervention techniques including new skills and ways of thinking about things. Practice homework assignments
What happens during the ‘follow-up’ stage of CBT in treating depression?
Final assessment using self-reports again. Scores are then compared to before
What are the 2 strengths of the cognitive approach of CBT for treatment depression?
Evidence support from March et al
CBT tackles the root problem of depression
What are the 2 weaknesses of the cognitive approach of CBT for treatment depression?
Success of CBT may lead to an aetiological fallacy - we assume the cause of depression is cognitive
Improvements of CBT may actually come from therapist-patient relationship
What evidence is there to support the cognitive approach to treating depression?
March et al 2007 - compared 327 adolescents receiving i) only CBT ii) only antidepressants iii) a combination - after 36 weeks 86% of the CBT plus antidepressants group had significantly improved compared to only 81% of the other group
What is meant by aetiological fallacy and why might CBT for treating depression create this?
Where we assume the causes of depression are cognitive because the cognitive treatments are successful. For instance, just because some symptoms of depression can be removed in CBT, this doesn’t necessarily mean the abuses can be solely cognitive in origin for depression. But the fact that some patients do respond to CBT can make us believe faulty cognitions are the cause and ignore other possible causes of depression that could also have a part to play
