🟠 Psychopathology - Depression

Question 1

What is depression

Answer 1

• aka major depressive disorder or clinical depression
• mood disorder characterised by low mood
• causes a number of changes to the way you think, feel and behave
• symptoms vary in severity and duration

Question 2

Behaviour characteristics of depression

Answer 2

• activity levels: reduction in energy levels, become lethargic and withdrawn. Sometimes the opposite, constant agitation (psychomotor agitation)
• disruption to sleeping and eating: insomnia or hyoersomnia. Appetite may increase or decrease, weight gain or loss
• aggression and self harm: aggression, erratic behaviour, self harm

Question 3

Emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 3

• lowered mood: vert sad, emptiness, worthless and dejection
• anger: extreme, self harm, harm to others
• low self esteem: we don’t like ourselves, hatred and self loathing

Question 4

Cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 4

• poor concentration: unable to stick to a task, lack decision making ability, interfere with work
• dwelling on the negative: pay more attention to negatives, recall unhappy events
• absolutist thinking: black and white thinking

Question 5

What is black and white thinking called

Answer 5

Absolutist thinking

Question 6

Becks theory of explanation

Answer 6

• faulty information processing: selective attention to environment, attend to negative aspects of the world, black and white thinking
• negative self schemas: ideas developed through lived experience. We receive sensory information from the world around us and our schemas act as mental framewor for interpretation, with depression, will interpret negatively

Question 7

Becks negative triad

Answer 7

• negative views about the world
• negative views about oneself
• negative views about the future

Question 8

Positives of becks explanation

Answer 8

• strong supporting evidence
• practical application; led to successful therapy (CBT)

Question 9

Negative of becks explatption

Answer 9

Doesn’t explain all aspects of depression.

Question 10

Ellis abc model

Answer 10

A - activating event, external event triggers irrational thoughts
B - beliefs, irrational thoughts leads to irrational beliefs
C - consequences, irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy, maladaptive, negative emotionally

Question 11

Positives of ELLISs work

Answer 11

• practical application, lead to successful therapy

Question 12

Negatives of Ellis work

Answer 12

• partial explanation, some cases of depression follow activating events
• doesn’t explain all aspects of depression,

Question 13

What is behaviour activation and why is it useful in treatment

Answer 13

People who are depressed are often have less opportunities to feel mastery, pleasure…

Way of breaking this viscous cycle is behavioural activation.

Increasing activity levels and engaging in past times

Countinues with monitoring and logging daily activities, this will improve mood, self worth, less depression

Question 14

CBT

Answer 14

Cognitive behaviour therapy: talking therapy aiming to identify and challenge negative, automatic, irrational thoughts

Question 15

Cognitive changes from CBT

Answer 15

• identify challenge and change negative thinking
• improve understanding of self , others and world

Question 16

Behavioural changes of CBT

Answer 16

• identify, challenge and change maladaptive behaviour
• becoming more active

Question 17

What is homework used for

Answer 17

Used as evidence to challenge thoughts

Question 18

How many sessions in CBT

Answer 18

Between 6-20

Question 19

What does REBT stand for

Answer 19

Rational emotive behaviour therapy

Question 20

What does CBT stand for

Answer 20

Cognitive behaviour therapy

Question 21

REBT description

Answer 21

• like CBT, looks to identify and challenge irrational thoughts, beliefs and behaviours
• difference lies in the approach: CBT is calm gentle, REBT is more confrontational and may manifest into a vigorous argument

Question 22

3 of Ellis’s irrational beliefs

Answer 22

• idea that one should be thoroughly competent, adequeate and we should all achieve
• human unhappiness is externally caused , no ability to control their sorrows
• ones past history is an all important determiner of one’s present behaviour.

Question 23

Positives of REBT and CBT

Answer 23

March et al (2007) compared CBT with pharmaceutical intervention (drugs). 327 depressed. 81% of CBT was effective, 81% of drugs were effective and 86% of both were effective

Question 24

4 Negatives of CBT and REBT

Answer 24

• may not work for severe cases
• is it therapist content or therapist-patient relationship: Luborsky 2002 suggested that difference between therapies are small, it’s the talking to someone that matters
• some patients want to explore their past, CBT focuses on the future and now
• overemphasis on cognition, focus lead to neglect of other factors