The cognitive approach to explaining depression Flashcards
What is depression and its characteristics
mood disorder and effects the emotional states of patients
effects 1/6 people
Characteristics:
- Emotional - Low mood , low self-esteem, Anger
- Behaviour - Energy levels change, Change to eating and sleeping habits
- Cognitive - Absolutist thinking, dwelling on the negative, poor concentration
What does the cognitive approach believe about depression
Believes the disorder is due to faulty processing (irrational thinking)
- misinterpretation of events etc
Who made the ABC model and what are the stages and give an example
Ellis created the ABC model
A - Activating event - something that happens in your life
(failing a mock exam)
B - belief - rational or irrational thinking (irrational is the source of depression)
. Rational - “I know what I need to work on”
. Irrational “I’m a failure and I’m going to fail all my A- levels why should I try”
C- consequence
. Irrational - unhealthy emotions and actions /depression
. Rational - Healthy emotions
What is musturbatory thinking
Irrational beliefs sometimes form on this
- You must always succeed to achieve perfection e.g. “I must do well or I’m useless”
- It can feel like a major disaster if something doesn’t go right
What is utopianism
Belief life is always unfair
Who made the negative triad and what does it act upon
How is this acquired
Becks negative triad
Through negative self- schema
- If we have a negative self-schema we interpret about ourselves in a negative manner
negative self-schema is built on past experiences (e.g. childhood)
- Failures
- Bullying / negative commentary (from parents)
- Trauma
- Rejections
What are the stages of the negative triad
- The self (self-schema)
“I’m ugly/ worthless/ a failure” - The world
“nobody loves me” - The future
“I’m hopeless because things will always be that way”
What could you use the evaluate the cognitive approach to explaining depression
- The role of irrational thinking is supported by research
- Successfully applied in therapy (CBT)
- Blames the client rather than situational factors
- Alternative explanations - Biological approach
Evaluate the cognitive approach to explaining depression
- Blames the client rather than situational factors
Gives the client an active role to change and a role in their treatment empowering them to change
However it will overlook situational factors (e.g. grief/ divorce) which may be reasonable situations which may contribute to depression .
Also blaming the client is sensitive producing low self esteem and can make negative schema
Evaluate the cognitive approach to explaining depression
- Alternative explanations such as the Biological approach
Can be explained in terms of genetic factors and neurotransmitters
- The SERT gene (associated with low levels of serotonin) is X10 more likely to be found in a depressed person
- Means other factors can take into account and so the diathesis stress model could be taken into account as a better approach creating a larger range of treatments (Drugs)
What is CBT and what is its purpose
Cognitive behavioural therapy
cognitive - changes the thought process
Behavioural - Changes the abnormal behaviour
Purpose is to challenge to irrational thoughts against reality to gain a positive output
What is Ellis REBT model in CBT
He extended his ABC model to ABCDEF
D - dispute where the patient argues their own irrational beliefs e.g. empirical disputing
E - effects - New belief replaces the irrational ones
F- New feeling as this leads to new positive feelings
What is empirical and logical disputing
Empirical - May not be consistent with reality and the building of evidence against the irrational belief
logical - Thinking it doesn’t make sense
What are Becks elements of CBT
Homework - Clients are often set homework to record when they enjoyed and event of when someone is nice to them.
- Helps to build evidence for the empirical dispute
“client as scientist”
Behavioural activation - Working with a depressed individual to gradually decrease avoidance and isolation and increase engagement in activities shown to improve mood
What can you use to evaluate Cognitive treatments (CBT) to depression
+ Evidence for effectiveness
- Suitability for diverse clients
- Relapse rates
+ - client preference
How would you evaluate the cognitive treatment (CBT) of depression
+ evidence for effectiveness
Large body of evidence of the effectiveness of CBT
- March et al compared CBT to antidepressants in 327 depressed adolescents. After 36 weeks
81% - CBT
81% - antidepressants
86% - Both
improved
This Shows CBT is just as effective as drugs even more so alongside them so should be seen as a first option
How would you evaluate the cognitive treatment (CBT) of depression
- Suitability for diverse clients
Only can be used for a specific range of people as lack of effectiveness in the severely depressed and people wilt learning difficulties
- severely depressed wont have the concentration or motivation to complete CBT e.g. not want to do homework, behavioural activation etc
- Hard cognitive load makes it hard for people with learning difficulties to access
How would you evaluate the cognitive treatment (CBT) of depression
- Relapse rates
High relapse rates showing it may not be long term effective
- one study shows out of 439 clients 42% relapsed after 6 months and 56% after a year
- could be due to ending 1-1 sessions and no longer doing homework since there’s no checking/ motivation
Shows may have to be repeated periodically
How would you evaluate the cognitive treatment (CBT) of depression
+ - client preference
It is shown when used in the appropriate clients its highly effective
However not all clients want to explore the origins of there depression e.g. trauma victims and just want their symptoms gone quickly
Anti-depressants would be a better fit for these people.
Evaluate the cognitive approach to explaining depression
- Role of irrational thinking supported by research
Bates et al found that depressed participants that where given negative automatic thoughts statements were more likely to become more and more depressed
This supports that negative irrational thinking leads to depression
