Treating depression

• CBT


  Aim is for individual with depression to identify and challenge their negative thoughts and beliefs to prevent further negative thinking

  Therapist may also work to encourage the service user to be

  more active and engage in positive behaviour patterns and activities-Behavioural Activation.
• REBT


  Ellis's rational emotive behaviour therapy

  Extends ABC model to ABCDE

  Dispute-challenge irrational beliefs

  Effect

  Individual identify previous experiences and activating events, which resulted in irrational beliefs

  The therapist then uses rational confrontation to reduce negative cognitive and emotional symptoms of

  depression.such as:

  Empirical dispute:if there is evidence to support irrational beliefs

  Rational dispute:asking if the negative belief is logical or based

  on common sense
• Strength of cognitive approach to treating depression

  research evidence

  E.g:March et al compared effects of CBT with antidepressants and a combo of the 2 in 327 adolescents

  After 36 weeks, 81% of the antidepressant group and CBT group had significantly improved, demonstrating the effectiveness of CBT in treating depression.

  However, 86% of the CBT with antidepressant group had significantly improved.

  This suggests that a

  combination of both treatments may be more effective.
• Limitation of cognitive approach to treating depression

  Overemphasis on cognitions as the primary cause of depression.

  Some psychologists have criticised CBT for not taking into account other factors such as social circumstances which might contribute to a person's depression.

  E.g: someone suffering from domestic violence does not need to change their negative/irrational beliefs, but in fact needs to change their circumstances.

  So CBT would be inappropriate in these situations
• Strength of cognitive approach to treating depression


  Success due to therapist-patient relationship

  E.g: Rosenzweig argued that it is the relationship which is of

  utmost importance in determining the success of a psychological therapy.

  Having someone to talk to may be the crucial component in having a positive outcome rather than the specific techniques

  This viewpoint becomes evident when comparison studies show very little difference between different methods of

  psychotherapy.