cognitive approach to explaining depression

• depression and behaviours associated with it are due to problems with internal mental processes- irrational thoughts
• schema- a negative framework built from experience, we use them to try and make sense of the world around us
• becks negative triad- three schemas with a persistent automatic negative bias- the self: aka self-schemas, feeling 'inadequate or unworthy', the world: thinking people are 'hostile or threatening', the future 'things will always turn out badly', this can lead to avoidance, social withdrawal and inaction
• the negative triad often develops in childhood but provides the framework for persistent biases in adulthood, leading to cognitive distortions, perceiving the world inaccurately. Cognitive distortions- overgeneralisation- one negative experience results in an assumption that the same thing will always happen. Selective abstraction= mentally filtering out positive experiences and focusing on the negative.
• becks negative triad- selective abstraction examples- for instance, filtering out the positives and focusing in solely on the negative, overgeneralisation- one negative experience results in an assumption that the same thing will always happen
• Ellis' abc model- a- activating event, happens in people with and without depression, eg the end of a relationship, it can be anything that happens to someone (big or small), b- belief- for example people without depression beliefs about A are rational, people with depression have irrational beliefs, c- consequence- rational beliefs lead to positive consequences, irrational beliefs lead to negative consequences
• Ellis proposed the term 'mustabatory thinking' which is the consequence of not accepting we don't live in a perfect world, 'there are three musts that hold us back, i must do well, you must treat me well, and the world must be easy'- ellis