Section 4 : Psychopathology - The Cognitive Approach to Depression Flashcards
What does the cognitive approach assume
- That behaviours are controlled by thoughts and beliefs
- So irrational thoughts and beliefs cause abnormal behaviours
What models explain how fatty cognitions can lead to depression
- Ellis’s ABC model
- Beck’s Negative triad
Who and when proposed Ellis’s ABC model
Who - Ellis
When - 1962
What does the ABC model claim
The ABC model claims that disorders begin with an activating event (e.g. a failed exam) leading to a belief about why this happened
What is said about the belief stage in the ABC model
The belief may be rational (e.g. ‘I didn’t prepare enough for an exam’) or irrational (e.g. ‘I’m too stupid to pass exams’)
What does the belief lead to
The belief leads to a consequence
What do rational beliefs produce
An adaptive (appropriate) consequence (e.g. more revision after failed exam).
What do irrational beliefs produce
Irrational beliefs produce maladaptive (bad and inappropriate) consequences (e.g. getting depressed after failed exam)
What was Beck’s 1963 triad
Beck’s 1963 triad identified a ‘negative triad’ of automatic thoughts linked to depression -
Negative views about:
- Themselves (e.g. that they can’t succeed at anything)
- The world (e.g. that they must be successful to be a good person)
- The future (e.g. that nothing will change)
What are the strengths of the cognitive explanation of depression
- cognitive model offers a useful approach to depression because it considers the role of thought and beliefs - greatly involved in problems like depression
- cognitive therapies have often successfully treated depression
What studies strengthen the cognitive explanation for depression
- Hollon and Kendall 1980
- Harrell and Ryon 1983
What was Hollon and Kendall
Hollon and Kendall developed the ATQ (automatic thought questionnaire) to measure negative thinking
What was Harrell and Ryon
- they used the ATQ to compare negative thinking in 114 depressed and non depressed participants. The depressed participants scored significantly higher than other groups, supporting a correlation between negative thinking and depression
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive explanation of depression
- Faulty cognition may simply be the consequences of depression rather than its cause
- e.g. depression may be caused by imbalance in the brain, cause people to think negatively
- The person could begin to feel like he or she is to blame for their problems
What is CBT
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- aims to identify and change the patient’s faulty cognitions
What is the idea of CBT
The idea is that patients learn how to notice negative thoughts when they have them, and test how accurate they are
What generally happens in CBT
- Therapist and client identify the clients faulty cognitions
- Therapist tries to help the client see that these cognitions aren’t true
- they set goals to think in more positive or adaptability ways
- treatment mainly focuses on the present situation, may occasionally look back on past experience
- therapists sometimes encourage their clients to keep a diary
What are the advantages of CBT
- Empowers patients, puts them in charge of their own treatment - teaches self help strategies
- Means fewer ethical issues than with other therapies like drug therapy
- DeRubeis et al 2005
- Hollon et al 2005
-Brandsma et al 1978
What was DeRubeis et al 2005
- Compared CBT and drug therapy as depression treatments on a placebo controlled trial.
- both treatments were more effective than the placebo after 8 weeks
- generally the two therapies were similarly effective
- CBT may have been less effective than drug therapy in cases where the therapist lacked experience
What was Hollon et al 2005
- Compared participants from DeRubeis after they were withdrawn from treatment (CBT and treatment) with participants who continued drug treatment
- participants withdrawn from CBT were significantly less likely to have relapsed than patients who continued drug treatment
What was Brandsma et al 1978
- found that CBT is particularly effective for people who put a lot of pressure on themselves and feel guilty about being inadequate
What are the disadvantages of CBT
- Cognitive therapies may take a long time and be costly
- May be more effective when combined with other approaches e.g. drug therapy
- DeRubeis found CBT effective if the therapist is experienced
- Patients with less experienced therapists may be better of with drug therapy
- The person could begin to feel like he or she is to blame for their problems
