The Cognitive Approach to Treating Depression Flashcards
In CBT, how does the therapist identify the severity of the client’s depression?
Why is this done?
Using the beck depression inventory.
This is done to identify the issues and any irrational thinking.
What is formulation in CBT?
A plan is created to highlight the next steps for the client, which will help to lead to their treatment.
What are goals in CBT?
Help the client to identify what outcome they would like from the treatment.
When is the client said to have been treated?
Once their Beck depression inventory score is significantly lower.
How can therapists use the ‘client as a scientist’ approach to improve the mental health of the client?
For example, a client could be asked to record every time someone is nice to them. The therapist can then use this as evidence if the client goes on to say nobody likes them.
What is the ‘client as a scientist’ approach?
The client takes responsibility for their treatment by completing homework set.
What is an empirical argument?
Disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief.
What does the therapist give to the client during treatment?
Give an example.
Treatment involves giving the client homework, which is where they are asked to do tasks that they would usually avoid. (ie: going for regular walks).
Explain the strength of CBT being as effective as SSRIs.
March found that CBT is effective at reducing s_________ and preventing r_______.
March treated 326 depressed adolescents and found that what percentage had improved in their symptoms after 36 weeks?
How does CBT benefit the NHS and why?
CBT has been proven to be just as effective at treating depression as SSRIs. For example, research from March found that CBT is effective in reducing symptoms of depression and preventing relapse. March provided treatment for 326 depressed adolescents. After 36 weeks, 81% of the group treated with CBT had improved their symptoms. In addition to its effectiveness, it is also cheap for the NHS, as only 6-12 sessions are needed. This shows that CBT is a valuable tool for treating depression.
What 2 letters were added onto the ABC model and what do they mean?
Dispute and Effect: The client tells the therapist their irrational thoughts and the therapist disputes with them to prove that the thoughts are irrational. This helps to break the link between negative life events and depression.
What is the name of Ellis’s therapy called?
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
What is a logical argument?
Involves disputing whether the negative thought follows logically from facts.
Explain the strength of there being research support from Keller for high recovery rates when using CBT.
What percentage of the time was CBT effective?
When paired with drugs, what percentage of the time was CBT effective?
On the other hand, what are some concerns surrounding CBT?
What percentage of clients assessed by Ali relapsed within 6 months after CBT? 12 months?
What does this suggest about the effectiveness of CBT when preventing symptoms?
Keller has found that using CBT alone has a 52% effectiveness rate at treating depression. However, when paired with drugs, this rises to 85%. This therefore increases the treatment options available to people. On the other hand, there are concerns with how long the effectiveness of CBT lasts. Ali assessed depression in 439 clients every month for 12 months after a course of CBT. 42% of clients ended up relapsing in 6 months, and 53% relapsed after a year. This suggests that CBT isn’t effective at preventing symptoms in the future.
Explain the limitation of CBT not working for the most severe cases.
Why might some patients be unable to engage with the therapy?
Why might the treatment be inappropriate for those with learning difficulties?
Sturmey found that CBT is unsuitable for people with what learning disorder?
What treatments may be more effective for those with learning difficulties?
On the other hand, what did Taylor conclude about the effectiveness of CBT for those with learning difficulties?
In some cases, the patient may be so depressed and unmotivated that they are unable to engage with the treatment. In addition to this, treatment sometimes involves complex rational thinking which isn’t suitable for those with learning difficulties. For example, Sturmey concluded that any talking therapies are unsuitable for those with IDD. This means that other treatments such as SSRIs may be more appropriate. One the other hand, researcher Taylor concluded that when CBT is used carefully, it may be more effective than SSRIs for those with learning difficulties.
Explain the limitation of the emphasis of treatment being an issue.
What experiences does CBT focus on and ignore?
Why might CBT be frustrating for the client?
Give an example of external factors that CBT might ignore.
How might this prevent the cause of depression from being addressed?
CBT focuses on the ‘here and now’ however there may be links to childhood experience and current depression. The client may want to talk about past experiences, meaning that the present focus could be frustrating. CBT also only focuses on the mind, and ignores external factors such as bullying that could cause depression. Continued bullying, for example, may mean that the treatment wont work as external causes of depression aren’t addressed.
