Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

• What did March et al. (2007) find regarding CBT and antidepressants in treating depression?

  CBT was as effective as antidepressants in treating depression.
• How many adolescents were examined in the study by March et al. (2007)?

  327 adolescents were examined.
• What treatments were compared in the study by March et al. (2007)?

  CBT, antidepressants, and a combination of both treatments were compared.
• What was the improvement rate for the antidepressant group after 36 weeks in the study?

  81% of the antidepressant group had significantly improved.
• What was the improvement rate for the CBT group after 36 weeks in the study?

  81% of the CBT group had significantly improved.
• What was the improvement rate for the CBT with antidepressant group after 36 weeks?

  86% of the CBT with antidepressant group had significantly improved.
• What does the study by March et al. (2007) suggest about the effectiveness of treatment combinations for depression?

  • A combination of CBT and antidepressants may be more effective than either treatment alone.
  • 86% improvement in the combination group compared to 81% in both single treatment groups.
• What is a positive impact of CBT on the economy?

  Psychological findings into psychopathology may lead to improvements in psychological health which mean that people can manage their health better and they take less time off work. This reduces costs to the economy.
• Weakness:

  P-CBT requires motivation.

  B-Patients with severe depression may not engage with CBT or even attend the sessions and therefore this treatment will be ineffective in treating these patients.

  S-This poses a problem for CBT, as CBT usually cannot be used as the sole treatment for severely depressed patients, who often lack the motivation to attend therapy and to speak about their depression.
• Weakness:

  P-Success of CBT may not be due to either of specific techniques advocated by Beck or Ellis.

  B-Rosenzweig(1936) argued that it is the relationship between the client and the therapist which is of utmost importance in determining the success of a psychological therapy.

  S-This viewpoint becomes evident when comparison studies such as that conducted by Luborsky et al(2002) show very little difference between different methods of psychotherapy.
• March et al (2007) examined 327 adolescents with a diagnosis of depression and looked at the effectiveness of CBT, antidepressants and a combination of CBT plus antidepressants.
• March et al (2007) found after 36 weeks, 81% of the antidepressant group and 81% of the CBT group had significantly improved, demonstrating the effectiveness of CBT in treating depression.
• In March et al (2007) 86% of the CBT plus antidepressant group had significantly improved, suggesting that a combination of both treatments may be more effective.
• One issue with CBT is that it requires motivation, which patients with depression may lack.
• Patients with severe depression may not engage with CBT or even attend the sessions.
• Alternate treatments, for example antidepressants, do not require the same level of motivation and maybe more effective.
• CBT has been criticised for its overemphasis on the role of cognitions.
• CBT therefore ignores other factors or circumstances that might contribute to a person’s depression.
• Ali et al (2017) assessed depression in 439 patients for a 12-month period following a course of CBT.
• Ali et al (2017) found that 42% of patients relapsed into depression within six months after a course of CBT.
• Ali et al (2017) suggest that CBT may need to be repeated periodically for long-term success.
• Yrondi et al (2015) found that depressed people rated CBT as their least preferred method of psychological therapy.
• March et al (2007) found that CBT was as effective as antidepressants, in treating depression.