treating depression (CBT)

• ellis (1957)

  rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) - a form of CBT

  • believed to deal with depression is to find the source of irrational thinking, using ABC then DE
• how does the therapy work?

  • ellis believed irrational belief caused depression, not activation event
  • proposed disputing irrational belief can turn into a rational = positive effect
  • prevents individual from catastrophising activating events
• types of disputing

  • logical disputing
  • empirical disputing
  • pragmatic disputing
• logical disputing

  irrational beliefs are not logical based upon available information - eg, is doesnt make sense

  eg, what made you think that?
• empirical disputing

  irrational beliefs are not consistent with reality - eg, where is the proof

  eg, do they have a reason to hate you
• pragmatic disputing

  emphasises the uselessness of such beliefs - eg, how is this likely to help me, why does this matter?
• other important factors

  • behavioural homework
  • unconditional positive regard
• behavioural homework

  • clients given tasks eg, asking someone on a date as previously afraid to do
  • vital in helping to test irrational beliefs
  • also involves a focus on encouraging clients to be more active + engage in pleasurable activities
• strengths

  • supporting research CBT is effective in reducing depression symptoms
  • kuyken et al (2007) concluded in literature review that CBT in usually effective in reducing acute depression symptoms + risk of relapse
  • also appropriate for various populations in a range of settings
• strength

  • deals with root cause, not just symptoms
  • CBT offers the prospect of a long term 'cure'
  • this is in contrast to eg, drug therapy, which tends to aim to just manage symptoms
• how might this impact the economy?

  1. it enables to get people back to work = reducing sick pay = boosting economy
  2. patients can be treated as 'out patients' with community nurses = reduced strain on NHS
• another limitation

  • expensive and time consuming
  • may mean it cannot always be offered eg, by health services on limited budgets