psychopathology - depression

Question 1

what is the definition of depression?

Answer 1

a mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

Question 2

what are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

Answer 2

activity levels, disruption to sleep and eating behaviour, aggression and self harm

Question 3

describe activity levels as a behavioural characteristic of depression

Answer 3

reduced levels of energy make them lethargic. this has a knock on effect as people can withdraw from education and work. the opposite is psychomotor agitation where people struggle to relax

Question 4

describe disruption to eating and sleep as a behavioural characteristic of depression

Answer 4

a person may experience insomnia or hypersomnia. a person may eat more or less, leading to weight loss or weight gain

Question 5

describe aggression and self harm as a behavioural characteristic of depression

Answer 5

some become verbally or physically aggressive. depression can also lead to physical aggression towards the self, including forms of self harm such as cutting

Question 6

what are the emotional characteristics of depression?

Answer 6

lowered mood, anger, lowered self esteem

Question 7

describe lowered mood as an emotional characteristic of depression

Answer 7

experiencing lethargic and sad moods, or it can be feelings of worthlessness and emptiness

Question 8

describe anger as an emotional characteristic of depression

Answer 8

some can experience extreme anger as a form of negative emotion, which can be directed towards the self or others

Question 9

describe lowered self esteem as an emotional characteristic of depression

Answer 9

they like themselves less than usual, which can lead to self loathing or self hatred

Question 10

what are the cognitive characteristic of depression?

Answer 10

poorer concentration, attending to and dwelling on the negative, absolutist thinking

Question 11

explain poorer concentration as a cognitive characteristic of depression

Answer 11

a person may find themselves unable to stick with a task they usually would. poorer concentration and poorer decision making is likely to interfere with work

Question 12

explain attending to and dwelling on the negative as a cognitive characteristic of depression

Answer 12

people may be more inclined to pay attention to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. people may also have a bias towards recalling unhappy events

Question 13

explain absolutist thinking as a cognitive characteristic of depression

Answer 13

most situations are either good or bad- “black and white thinking” so an unfortunate situation is seen as a disaster

Question 14

what is Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 14

1967) took a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others.
includes faulty information processing, negative self schema and the negative triad

Question 15

explain faulty information processing (Beck)

Answer 15

depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. they also tend to blow small problems out of proportion and have “black and white” thinking

Question 16

explain negative self schema (Beck)

Answer 16

a depressed person interprets all information about themselves in a negative way

Question 17

what is the negative triad? (Beck)

Answer 17

negative view of the world, the self and the future

Question 18

explain Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 18

1962) poor mental health is caused by irrational thoughts, which are any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from any pain.
A- activating event, irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
B- beliefs- irrational beliefs begin, eg, the belief of always having to succeed is musturation
C- consequences, irrational beliefs trigger emotional and behavioural consequences

Question 19

what is a strength of Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 19

research support-
cognitive vulnerability is ways of thinking that may lead to a person becoming depressed.
Clark and Beck (1999) concluded not only was cognitive vulnerability more common in depressed people but also caused the depression.
shows there is an association between cognitive vulnerability and depression

Question 20

what is another strength of Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 20

real world application-
Cohen concluded that assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologists to screen young people who have a high risk of developing depression in the future.
this can be applied to cognitive behavioural therapy, which works by altering the kind of cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression
shows understanding cognitive vulnerability is useful in clinical practice

Question 21

what is a strength of Ellis’s ABC model?

Answer 21

real world application in psychological treatment of depression-
rational emotive behaviour therapy is vigorously arguing with a depressed person until the therapist can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy.
David (2018) stated REBT can both change negative beliefs and relieve the symptoms of depression.
means REBT has real world value

Question 22

what is a limitation of Ellis’s ABC model?

Answer 22

it explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression.
Ellis states depression is often triggered by life events which is called reactive depression.
however in many cases of depression, they are not traceable to life events and it is not obvious what caused it.
shows Ellis’s model is less useful in explaining endogenous depression so its only a partial explanation

Question 23

how can we use the cognitive approach to treat depression?

Answer 23

cognitive behavioural therapy which challenges irrational thoughts

Question 24

explain the process of cognitive behavioural therapy

Answer 24

1- an assessment will take place, where the therapist and patient work together to clarify the patients problem.
2- they jointly identify goals and put together a plan to achieve them
3- identify where there might be negative or irrational thoughts that will benefit from the challenge.
4- work on changing these thoughts and put more effective behaviours in place

Question 25

what is Beck’s cognitive therapy?

Answer 25

this challenges the thoughts directly to help the clients test the reality of their negative beliefs. this sets ‘homework’ where the patient investigates the reality of their beliefs. this can be used as evidence to prove the patient’s statement wrong

Question 26

what is Ellis’s rational emotive behavioural therapy?

Answer 26

identifies and challenges irrational thoughts.
A- activating event
B- beliefs
C- consequenes
D- dispute
E- effect

Question 27

what is behavioural activation?

Answer 27

with depression, people can become more isolated as they avoid difficult situations which can worsens symptoms. the goal is to decrease their avoidance and increase their engagement in activities. this has been shown to improve mood

Question 28

what is a strength of cognitive behavioural therapy?

Answer 28

evidence for effectiveness.
March(2007) compared CBT to antidepressant drugs and a combination of both treatments.
after 36 weeks, 81% of CBT group, 81% of antidepressant group and 86% of combination were significantly improved.
shows CBT is just as effective when used on its own and more so alongside antidepressants

Question 29

what is a limitation of cognitive behavioural therapy?

Answer 29

lack of effectiveness for severe cases and for clients with learning disabilities.
in some cases of depression, some clients may not have the motivation to engage with the therapy, and the complex rational thinking makes it unsuitable for those with learning disabilities.
Sturmey (2005) suggests any form of psychotherapy is not suitable for people with learning disabilities.
suggests CBT is only appropriate for a specific range of people with depression

Question 30

what is a counterpoint for lack of effectiveness of CBT for severe cases and for clients with learning disabilities?

Answer 30

a review by Lewis and Lewis (2016) concluded CBT was as effective as drugs and behavioural therapies for severe depression