The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression

• What did Ellis create in order to explain depression?

  Ellis' ABC model (1962)
• What did Ellis proposed?

  Albert Ellis proposed that the key to mental disorders such as depression lay in irrational beliefs
• What was the ABC model?

  A-activating event, B-belief whether rational or irrational and C-consequence.
• What is Musturbatory thinking?

  It is the idea that the source of irrational beliefs lie in thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy.
• What did Beck create to explain depression?

  Beck's Negative Triad (1967)
• What did Beck think about how depressed people negative schemas acquired?

  Beck thought that depressed people acquired negative schemas from their childhood- a tendency to adopt a negative view of the world.
• When are negative schemas activated?

  Whenever a person encounters a new situation that resembles the original conditions in which these schemas are learned.
• What do negative schemas lead to?

  Negative schemas lead to systematic cognitive biases in thinking e.g individuals over-generalise, drawing a conclusion regarding self worth based on a small piece of negative feedback.
• What was the negative triad?

  Negative schemas and cognitive biases maintain what Beck calls the negative triad, a pessimistic and irrational view of three key elements in a person's belief system.
• What is the first stage of the negative triad? Give example

  The self e.g 'I am undesirable
• What is the second stage of the negative triad? Give example

  The world e.g 'My friends don't like me, they would prefer someone else's company
• What is the third stage of the negative triad? Give example

  The future e.g I am always going to be on my own, there is nothing that is going to change this.
• A03 for explaining depression

  Research has supported the link between depression and irrational thinking. Hammen and Kratz (1976) discovered that depressed participants made more errors of logic when asked to interpret written material than non-depressed participants. This implies that depressed patients think irrationally rather than logically.The cognitive approach suggests that it is the client who is responsible for their disorder. In one sense it is a good thing because it could motivate the client and it gives them the power to treat their disorder. However there are disadvantages because it means that the client or therapist ignore situational factors such as life events or family problems.The biological approach implies that there is a link between neurotransmitters and depression. There is a link between low levels of serotonin and depression which suggests that neurotransmitters may cause depression also the success of drug therapies imply that neurotransmitters play a role.
• How is depression treated?

  It is treated with CBT.
• What did Ellis extended his ABC model to?


  ABCDEF
• What does D and E and F stand for?

  D stands for disputing the irrational thoughts, E stands for effects of disputing the thoughts and effective attitude to life and F stands for new feelings produced.
• What are the different types of disputing?

  Logical disputing, empirical disputing and pragmatic disputing.
• What 'homework' do clients who go though CBT have to do?


  Clients are often asked to complete homework to put their new rational thoughts into practice such as asking to meet up with friends.
• What Behavioural action does CBT Involve?

  CBT often involves a specific focus on encouraging depressed clients to become more active and engage in pleasurable activities. In CBT, the therapist and client identify potentially pleasurable activities and anticipate and deal with any cognitive obstacles.
• A03 for treating depression

  Research support implies that CBT is an effective treatment for depression. Ellis (1957) found that REBT has a 90% success rate, taking an average of 27 sessions.However he recognised that some clients did not put their revised beliefs into action (2001)Research suggests CBT may not be appropriate for some individuals.CBT appears to be less suitable for people with high levels of traditional beliefs that are both rigid and resistant to change (Elken et al.,1985)This suggests that there are individual differences.The belief that changing behaviour can go some way in alleviating depression has been found by a study on the beneficial effects of exercise.Babyak et al.,2000 studied 156 adult volunteers diagnosed with major depressive disorder. They randomly assigned to a 4 month course of aerobic exercise, drug treatment or a combination of both. Clients in all 3 groups showed significant improvement at the end of the 4 months.This implies that the behavioural action in CBT helps the process of alleviating depression.