Cognitive treatments
Cards (12)
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)--Cognitive elements: identify and challenge irrational and negative thoughts-Behavioural elements: test these beliefs through behavioural homework-Central to any form of CBT is challenging irrational thoughts
- Becks treatment to depression-Key goal is to identify automatic, negative thoughts about the world, self and future and challenge these thoughts either directly or through outside tasks-Patient and therapist will work together to identify and challenge negative thoughts by finding evidence either for or against them
- Ellis' treatment to depression --Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavioural therapy (REBT)ABC extended to ABCDEF>D: disputing irrational thoughts and beliefs>E: effects of disputing>F: new feelings that are produced-REBT focuses on challenging/disputing irrational thoughts and beliefs and replacing them with effective rational thoughts
- Strength of CBT - antidepressants-Research by March et al (2007) looked at different depression treatments with 327 adolescents with a diagnosis of depression.-After 36 weeks of treatment, the group who were treated only CBT showed 81% improvement; people who only used antidepressants showed 81% improvement . Those who combined CBT and antidepressants showed an 86% improvement.-Suggests CBT is just as effective as antidepressants and more effective when combined
- Strength of CBT- Successful-Research by Cuijpers et al (2013) reviewed 75 studies and found that CBT was superior to no treatment.-This means that CBT is a successful method of treating depression
- Strength of CBT- support for behavioural activation-Babyak et al (2000) studied 156 adults with major depressive disorder who were assigned to either an aerobic course, standalone drug treatment of combination of both.-All participants showed significant improvement-However, after 6 months, those in exercise group had lower relapse rates than those in medication group, showing effectiveness of behavioural activation
- Strength of CBT - Ellis and Beck findings-Ellis claimed a 90% success rate to his REBT treatment-Butler and Becks (2000) reviewed 14 meta-analyses that investigated the effectiveness of Becks cognitive therapy and came to conclusion that 80% of adults benefited from Beck's CBT
- Weakness of CBT - may not work in severe cases-In severe cases, patients may struggle to find motivation to engage in CBT, they may even be unable to pay attention to it.-In this instance, these patients would be treated with medication before attending CBT sessions-This means depression cannot be a stand alone treatment for all cases of depression
- Weakness of CBT- Ignores past-CBT is focused on the patients present and future, ignoring their past.-Other therapies exist which place an emphasis on the past and exploring how a patients childhood experiences may have contributed to their depression-Assimilation therapy, for example, begins with an exploration of the patients past and when ready, moves on to cognitive techniques to address present/future
- Weakness of CBT - Research-Research suggests that it may not be CBt that leads to high success rates, but rather the therapist themselves.-Patient-therapist relationships are not essential in effective therapy treatments for depression-Thus, we may not be able to attribute improvements in depressive symptoms to CBT solely, as it may be the therapist themselves increasing the effectiveness
- Weakness of CBT- overemphasis on cognition-McCusker (2014) suggests that the overemphasis on cognition leads to patient and therapists minimising importance of patients' circumstances-For example, someone who is facing abuse also requires a change in their circumstances to improve-Thus, CBT ignores the patients environment and can lead to demotivation to change their circumstances
- Weakness of CBT - Ethics-REBT is a direct approach to treating depression and can sometimes be quite forceful, which raises ethical concerns