Depression

• What is depression characterized by?


  Low mood and low energy levels
• What type of disorder is depression classified as?

  A mood disorder
• What are the behavioral characteristics of depression?

  • Change in energy levels
  • Disruption to sleep
  • Disruption to appetite
• What happens to energy levels in individuals with depression?

  They experience reduced energy levels
• How does depression affect social activities?

  Individuals often withdraw from social activities
• What sleep disturbances are common in depression?

  Insomnia or hypersomnia
• How does depression affect appetite?

  It may result in weight loss or gain
• What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

  • Sadness
  • Anger
  • Low self-esteem
• What feelings accompany sadness in depression?

  Feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness
• How can anger manifest in individuals with depression?

  It can be directed at oneself or others
• What is a common self-perception in depressed individuals?

  They experience low self-esteem
• What cognitive characteristic involves difficulty in focusing?

  Poor concentration
• What type of thoughts do depressed individuals often have?

  Negative distorted thoughts
• What is absolute thinking in depression?

  Viewing things as black or white
• Who explained depression as a vulnerability related to thinking?

  Beck (1967)
• What are the three parts of cognitive vulnerability according to Beck?

  1. Faulty Information Processing
  2. Negative Self Schema
  3. Beck’s Negative Triad
• What does faulty information processing involve?

  Focusing on negatives and ignoring positives
• How do depressed individuals exaggerate problems?

  Through over-generalizations and catastrophizing
• What is a self-schema?

  Ideas we hold about ourselves
• What happens to self-schema when a person is depressed?

  It becomes negative
• What are the three elements of Beck's Negative Triad?

  Negative view of self, world, future
• What did Clark & Beck (1999) conclude about cognitive vulnerability?

  • More common in depressed individuals
  • Preceded the onset of depression
• What did Cohen et al (2019) find regarding cognitive vulnerability?

  • Predicted later depression
  • Tracked 473 adolescents
• How can cognitive vulnerability be applied in clinical practice?

  • Screening for at-risk individuals
  • Used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• What did Ellis (1962) suggest about depression?

  It is caused by irrational thoughts
• What are the components of Ellis's ABC Model?

  • Activating Event
  • Beliefs
  • Consequences
• What is the purpose of disputing irrational beliefs in REBT?

  To alter beliefs causing unhappiness
• What did March et al (2007) find about CBT?

  • Effective as antidepressants
  • Effective in combination with antidepressants
• What did Lewis & Lewis (2016) conclude about CBT?

  It is effective for severe depression
• What did Taylor et al (2008) find regarding CBT and learning disabilities?

  CBT is effective when used appropriately
• What are the concerns regarding CBT's effectiveness?

  • Relapse rates are significant
  • 42% relapse within 6 months
• What is the focus of cognitive therapies?

  To change negative schemas
• What is behavioral activation in depression treatment?

  • Increase engagement in mood-improving activities
• How does cognitive behavioral treatment help clients?

  Identifies and challenges irrational thoughts
• What is reality testing in therapy?

  Using evidence to question beliefs
• What is the significance of Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy?

  • Confrontational approach
  • Challenges irrational beliefs
• What is a strength for Beck’s Negative Triad as an Explanation for Depression?

  Research Support

  • Cognitive vulnerability refers to ways of thinking that make a person prone to depression
  • Clark & Beck (1999) concluded that cognitive vulnerabilities are more common in depressed people, as well as preceding the depression and Cohen et al (2019) confirmed this; the development of 473 adolescents was tracked, regularly measuring cognitive vulnerability and found that cognitive vulnerability predicted depression
  • This shows that there is a link between cognitive vulnerability and depression
• What is a strength about Beck’s Negative Triad as an Explanation for Depression?

  Real World Application

  • Cohen et al (2019) concluded that assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologists to screen young people, identifying those at risk of developing depression in the future and monitoring them
  • Understanding cognitive vulnerability can be applied in CBT, which works by altering cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression, reinforcing resilience to negative life events
  • This means that an understanding of cognitive vulnerability is useful in clinical practice
• What is a strength for Ellis’s ABC model as an Explanation for Depression?

  Real World Application

  • Ellis’s approach to cognitive therapy is called REBT and the idea of it is that by vigorously arguing with a depressed person can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy
  • There is some evidence to support the idea that REBT can both change negative beliefs and relieve symptoms of depression
  • This means that REBT has real-world value
• What is a limitation for Ellis’s ABC model as an Explanation for Depression?

  Reactive and Endogenous Depression

  • There is no doubt that depression is often triggered by life events, and how we respond to life events seems to be part of the result of our beliefs
  • However, many cases of depression are not traceable to life events and it is not obvious what leads the person to become depressed
  • This means that Ellis’s model can only explain reactive depression and not endogenous depression and therefore is only a partial explanation