Cognitive Therapies

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy to help you manage your problems by changing the way you think (cognitive) and behave (behavioural).
• For treating depression, Ellis came up with a form of CBT known as REBT- Rational Emotional Behaviour Therapy- which focuses on challenging/ disputing irrational thoughts & replacing them with effective rational beliefs.
• Ellis extended his ABC model to ABCDEF:

  • D-Disputing irrational thoughts
  • E-Effective attitudes to life (changing to more rational thoughts)
  • F-Feelings that are produced
• Logical disputing- does thinking in this way make sense?
• Empirical disputing- where is the proof that this belief is accurate?
• Pragmatic disputing- how is this belief likely to help me?
• Behavioural aspects:

  • Homework- involves setting tasks to be completed outside of the therapy session (activities to aid self-help, eg practicing noticing & challenging own irrational thoughts).
• Behavioural aspects:

  • Behavioural activation- a specific type of homework where patient is encouraged to re-engage in old hobbies or start new ones in attempt to regain pleasure in life. Therapist would need to help patient overcome cognitive boundaries first.
• Behavioural aspects:

  • Unconditional Positive Regard- form of operant conditioning whereby the therapist provides respect & appreciation (positively) to the patient- regardless of what they say/ do- in attempt to help them regain self-worth.
• CBT Evaluation- Strength:

  • Can be as effective as medication, and may be helpful in cases where medication alone has not worked and doesn't have the side effects drugs have.
  • It aims to cure at cause rather than just masking symptoms- so has long term effectiveness.
• CBT Evaluation- Strength:

  • Can be completed in a relatively short period of time compared to other talking therapies, such as psychoanalysis that can take years.
  • So, it's a more appropriate treatment for fast improvements in symptoms.
• CBT Evaluation- Weakness:

  • CBT focuses on the individual's capacity to change themselves (their thoughts, feelings & behaviours).
  • It doesn't address wider problems in systems or families that often have a significant impact on an individual's health & well-being.
  • This may lead to relapse if other contributing factors are ignored.
• CBT Evaluation- Weakness:

  • Due to the structured nature of CBT, it may not be suitable for people with more severe cases of depression.
  • Eg, someone who is severely depressed is unlikely to have motivation to attend/ complete homework tasks etc.
  • Therefore, it won't work for everyone.