Psychopathology: Cognitive treatments for depression

Question 1

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) definition + procedure

Answer 1

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): the most commonly used psychological treatment for depression and a range of mental health problems.
The procedure involves:
An assessment in which the patient and the cognitive therapist work together to clarify the patients problems
Identification of goals for therapy and a putting together a plan to achieve them
Central task of identifying where there might be irrational thoughts that will benefit that will benefit from the challenge
Working to to change negative and irrational thoughts and finally putting more effective behaviours in place

Question 2

Beck’s cognitive therapy

Answer 2

Beck’s cognitive therapy
The idea behind cognitive therapy is to identify automatic thoughts about the world, the self and the future (negative triad). Once identified these thoughts can be challenged = central component of therapy
Cognitive therapy also helps to aims to help patients test the reality of negative beliefs therefore homework that involves recording positive events may be set

Question 3

Ellis’s rational emotional behaviour therapy (REBT)

Answer 3

Ellis’s rational emotional behaviour therapy (REBT)
ABC model explains depression - Activating events - negatice situation, Beliefs- explanation to the situation, Consequences - behaviour in response to beliefs
REBT extends the ABC (Activating events, Beliefs, Consequences) model to an ABCDE model (D=dispute and E=effect)
The central technique to REBT is to identify and dispute/challenge irrational thoughts with intended effect of causing an argument to break the link between negative life events and depression

Question 4

Strength of CBT

Answer 4

It is effective - evidence to support the effectiveness: March et al compared the effects of CBT to antidepressants drugs and a combination of the two. After 36 weeks, the results concluded 81% of the antidepressants group, 81% of the CBT group and 86% of the CBT+antidepressants group significantly improved. This showed CBT was just as effective as anti-depressants in treating depression but the best treatment was a combination of both.

Question 5

Limitation of CBT: severe cases

Answer 5

CBT may not work for the most severe cases:
In some cases of severe depression, patients cannot motivate themselves to engage with the hard cognitive work of CBT as they may not be able to pay attention to what is happening in a session. Limitation because CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for all cases as in this case antidepressants would be better.

Question 6

Limitation of CBT: therapist-patient relationship

Answer 6

Success may be due to the therapist-patient relationship: Rosenzweig suggested differences between psychotherapy (such as CBT and systematic desensitisation) might be small and all psychotherapies depend the therapist-patient relation which determines success rather than any particular technique This is supported by Luborsky et al conducted comparative studies of psychotherapies and found that the nature of psychotherapy isnt important as simply having someone who will listen could be what matters most