psychopathology - depression

Question 1

what does the cognitive approach argue about depression

Answer 1

that it is due to irrational thoughts from maladaptive internal mental processes

Question 2

what is becks negative triad

Answer 2

three schemas with persistent automatic negative biases:
- the self: aka self schemas feeling inadequate or unworthy
- the world: thinking people are hostile or threatening
- the future: thinking things will always turn out badly
this develops in childhood but provides the framework for persistent biases in adulthood leading to cognitive distortions perceiving the world inaccurately

Question 3

what is ellis’s ABC model

Answer 3

A- activating event which can be anything that happens to someone
B - belief, for people without depression beliefs about A are rational but people with depression have irrational beliefs
C - consequences, rational beliefs lead to positive consequences, irrational beliefs lead to negative consequences

Question 4

what is mustabatory thinking

Answer 4

thinking the world must be a certain way ultimately leading to dissappointment

Question 5

what are the strengths of the cognitive explanation to explaining depression

Answer 5

• Grazioli and terry: assessed the thinking styles of 65 women before giving birth and after. they found women with negative thinking styles were the most likely to develop postpartum depression supporting the idea that faulty thinking leads to depression
• march showed CBT has an effectiveness rate of 81% after 36 weeks of treatment, the same as drug therapy. the fact that these treatments are successful suggests that the underlying cognitive explanations they are based on are valid

Question 6

what are the weaknesses of the cognitive explanation for depression

Answer 6

• people with bipolar depression experience manic phases where they feel extremely happy, overly confident and focused. this is a problem for becks theory which explains depression as due to negative schemas which are resistant to change
• cognitive theories depend on the assumption that the person with depression thoughts are irrational, it could be depression is a reasonable response to the challenges they face

Question 7

what do becks CBT and ellis’s REBT do

Answer 7

change negative schemas and challenge irrational thoughts with cognitive restructuring

Question 8

what does becks CBT involve

Answer 8

the patient is a scientist; the patient generates and tests hypotheses about the validity of their irrational thoughts: when they realise their thoughts don’t match reality, this will change their schemas and their irrational thoughts can be discarded

Question 9

what are the features of CBT

Answer 9

• thought catching: identifying irrational thoughts coming from the negative triad of schemas
• homework tasks : keeping a diary to identify the sources of inegative thinking

Question 10

what is ellis’s rational emotive behaviour therapy

Answer 10

a development of the ABC model, adding D for dispute and E for effect:
- dispute: therapist confronts the clients irrational beliefs, empirical arguments challenge the client to provide evidence for their irrational beliefs whilst logical arguments attempt to show that the beliefs dont make sense
- effect: redution of irrational thoughts ( restructured beliefs ) leading to better consequences in the future

Question 11

what are the strengths of the cognitive approach to treating depression

Answer 11

• march compared CBT, drug therapy ( fluoxetine ) or combined treatment. at 36 weeks, CBT and drug therapy had an effectiveness rate of 81%, combined 36%. CBT also had a more significant reduction in suicidal events than drug treatment
• advocates say CBT says it empowers patients and gives a sense of personal efficacy, enabling them to take control of their lives and make positive changes. in contrast drugs often require a passive role where patients are reliant on biological intervention

Question 12

what are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach treating depression

Answer 12

• some people with depression are too severely depressed to engage with the demands of CBT. completing homework, challenging irrational thoughts and attending sessions require motivation and commitment
• REBT and CBT may be overly focused on the present and how to restructure how the client thinks about their current situation cognitively. clients may want to discuss severe trauma in their past