cognitive approach to treating depression

• cognitive vulnerability - aaron beck


  some people are more vulnerable to depression than others due to

  • faulty information processing
  • negative self schemas
  • the negative triad
• faulty information processing

  • low mood - the problem is not the environment but the way the brain processes information

  depressed people...

  • selectively attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positive aspects
  • blow problems out of proportion
  • thinking in terms of black and white and ignore the middle ground
  • eg. youre a success or a failure rather than not good at some things but okay at others
• negative self schemas 


  • schema - a package of information that has developed with experience
  • self schema - a package of ideas that we have about ourselves
  • depressed people interpret all the information about themselves in a negative way
• negative self schemas - weissman and beck 1978


  • aimed to investigate thought processes to establish if depressed people have negative self schemas
  • thought processes were measured using the dysfunctional attitude scale. Ps were asked to fill in a questionnaire by ticking if they agreed or disagreed with statements (eg. people will think less of me if i make a mistake)
  • found depressed people made more negative assessments
  • when given therapy to challenge and change their negative schemas there was an improvement in their self ratings
• the negative triad - becks model of depression 1979


  when experiencing depression people can get stuck in this negative triad

  • negative view of the self
  • negative view of the world
  • negative view of the future
• ellis' ABC model 


  A - an ACTION is affected by

  B - an individuals BELIEFS which results in

  C - a CONSEQUENCE

  if beliefs are subject to cognitive biases then they can cause irrational thinking which may produce undesirable behaviors
• becks theory - evaluation

  • good supporting evidence

  much research has supported the proposal that depression is associated with faulty information processing, negative self schemas and the negative triad

  • has practical application in CBT

  forms the basis of CBT, all cognitive aspects of depression can be challenged in CBT

  • does not explain all aspects of depression

  explains basic symptoms, however depression is a complex disorder with a range of symptoms, not all of which can be explained
• ellis' theory - evaluation


  • only offers a partial explanation

  some depression does occur as a reault of an activating event, but not all depression arises as a result of an obvious cause

  • has practical application in CBT

  has led to successful therapy, irrational negative belifes can be challenged, helping to reduce depressive symptoms suggesting the irrational beliefs had some role in the depression

  • doesnt explain all aspects of depression

  doesnt explain why some individuals experience anger associated with their depression / why some patients suffer hallucinations and delusions
• alternative explainations

  • biological approach suggests genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression
  • success of drug therapies for depression show neurotransmitters play an important role, medication alters levels of specific one and reduces the symptoms
  • a diathesis stress approach may be advisable, individuals with genetic vulnerability for depression are more prone to effects of living in a negative environment, leading to negative irrational thinking
• ethical or unethical?

  • ethical - empowering approach, you can change the way that you think
  • unethical - blames the individual, it is their fault for feeling this way (cant be helped sometimes, abuse)
• cognitive behavioural therapy - beck 


  • focuses on challenging the negative thoughts about oneself, world and future. client is encouraged to test the reality of their negative beliefs with reality testing (behavioral experiment - is what you think is happening actually happening?)
  • proving things will / wont happen
  • will set homework tasks - putting themselves into a situation they had previously avoided
  • behavioral activation - client is encouraged to become more active and take part in pleasurable activities
• rational emotive behavioral therapy


  focuses on

  • A - affect (how client feels)
  • B - behavior (how client acts)
  • C - cognition (how they think)
  • D - disputing (irrational thoughts, challenged empirically (behavioral experiment) or logically (does it make sense) to encourage client to think or other explanations / possibilities
  • E - Effects (of new beliefs and attitudes that emerge)
  • F - Feelings (emotional responses that arise)

  also set homework tasks / use behavioural activation
• CBT evaluation - strength


  effective - 55%-85% effective
• CBT evaluation - strength


  long term benefits - may be better for client in long run
• CBT evaluation - strength


  research to support - CBT + drugs = 85% success rate
• CBT evaluation - weaknesses 


  patient must be motivated and willing to change - older people become more resistant to change, may work better on young people
• CBT evaluation - weakness


  relies on a good relationship being formed between client and therapist - may be difficult to end the sessions once finished
• CBT evaluation - weakness 


  present vs past - only focuses on the present, underlying problems may be a result of their past
• CBT evaluation - weakness

  over emphasis on cognitive element - ignores situation, sometimes situations need changing (abuse)
• CBT evaluation - weakness 


  relies on well trained therapist - costs will be higher
• CBT evaluation - weakness


  can take months to see improvement and its expensive