Cognitive treatment for depression

• Outline cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for depression.


  CBT is a talking therapy that aims to treat depression by changing client's irrational thinking into more rational ways of thinking.

  It begins with the therapist Identifying the patient's irrational thoughts through thought catching or by asking the patient to keep a diary record of their thoughts
• Outline cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for depression.


  The next step is cognitive restructuring whereby the therapist and client discuss more accurate and helpful ways of thinking so that they can replace their irrational thoughts with healthier, rational thoughts.

  This will typically involve the therapist disputing the client's irrational beliefs through logical disputing (do they make sense?), empirical disputing (is there any evidence to support the belief?) and pragmatic disputing (is it helpful to think that way?).
• Outline cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for depression.


  Finally, the therapist sets the patient client-as-scientist homework tasks whereby they test and evaluate their irrationaI thoughts outside of the therapeutic setting so that the client can do this without the therapist once the CBT sessions have finished.

  In some cases, CBT may also involve behavioural activation (whereby patients are encouraged to engage in activities they used to enjoy) as this can raise their mood and lead to more positive ways of thinking.
• Evaluate CBT as a treatment for depression: effective.

  E.g. when comparing CBT to drug therapy, research has found that they are equally as effective at reducing depressive symptoms. In many cases, however, CBT was considered more appropriate because, unlike drug therapies, it did not produce side effects that can make clients drop out of the treatment programme. This Is a strength as it means that CBT is an effective treatment of depression that suffers from low drop-out rates.
• Evaluate CBT as a treatment for depression: takes a more idiographic approach to treatment.

  This is because CBT involves the therapist identifying and disputing the client's unique, irrational beliefs whereas alternatives such as drug therapies are nomothetic in that most people take the same drug. This is a strength because it means that CBT is a more tailored treatment so can be adapted to maximise its success whereas drug therapies may not be effective for some people.
• Evaluate CBT as a treatment for depression: not an effective treatment for every case of depression. 


  This is because some cases of depression may be caused by biological factors such as low serotonin and so changing the way they think will not address the root cause. This Is a limitation because it suggests that alternative treatments such as SSRls may be more effective for people with biologically-caused depression.
• Evaluate CBT as a treatment for depression: may not be easy to access. 


  CBT requires people with depression to actively engage in numerous talking therapy sessions over a period of time. This is a limitation because people with depression can struggle with motivation and so they may find It difficult to engage with CBT.

  SSRls may be easier to access because they can be taken at home.