The cognitive approach to Treating depression Flashcards
What is CBT based on?
The assumption that that people
with depression often have faulty and irrational thought processes and
perceptions, which influence their feelings and behaviours in maladaptive
ways.
What is CBT?
an umbrella term for a number of therapies used to treat depression, the two best being known as Beck’s cognitive behavioural therapy and Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)
What is the central idea for both CBT’s?
to identify, challenge, and modify the sufferer’s negative thoughts (e.g. ‘I am unlovable’), and cognitive biases (e.g. catastrophising no one will ever love me ) to alleviate depression
What does CBT also aim to do?
alter dysfunctional behaviours that may be contributing to depression by helping people to establish links between their thoughts, feelings, actions and their symptoms
What are strategies are used within CBT?
-Cognitive strategies- thought catching, cognitive restructuring
-Behavioural Strategies- behavioural activation
What is thought catching?
-involves identifying negative thoughts. depressed individuals are taught to see the link between their thoughts and how they feel.
-They might, as part of their homework assignments, be asked to record any emotion-arousing situations in which automatic negative thinking occurs so these can be targeted in therapy.
What does cognitive restructuring involve?
the therapist helping the client to challenge their negative and irrational thoughts and replace them with more positive and rational ways of thinking, alleviating the depressive symptoms
What are patients set to help with cognitive restructuring?
-homework assignments encouraging them to act like a scientist, testing the reality of their irrational beliefs to help put new rational beliefs into practice.
e.g keeping a diary of evidence that they can compare against the negative thoughts, if the evidence and the negative thought do not match this does not have a basis in reality.
What is behavioural activation?
- a characteristic of many depressed people is that they no longer participate in activities that they previously enjoyed. During CBT (and REBT), the client and therapist identify potentially pleasurable activities and to overcome any obstacles in carrying them out.
What may patients be given as a part of behavioural activation?
They may be given graded homework assignments, which allow them to experiment with the chosen activity to engage in progressively in more rewarding activities.
What does EREBT stand for?
Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy
What is one effective way of treating depression?
using a strategy of disputing to challenge irrational thoughts.
What is the main idea of EREBT?
to dispute (challenge) irrational thoughts.
We hat dies effective disputing do?
changes self-defeating beliefs into more rational beliefs and the client can move to more healthy interpretation of events. This in turn helps the depressed client feel more positive and become more self-accepting.
What are the three different methods of disputing ellis identified?
Empirical, Logical, Pragmatic
