Depression

• What are some behavioural charicteristics of depression?

  Low energy, disrupted sleep/eating (too much/little) and aggression/self-harm.
• What are some emotional charicteristics of depression?

  Low mood, anger (neg. thoughts about others/situation) and low self-esteem (neg. feelings of self)
• What are some cognitive charicteristics of depression?

  Poor concentration, dwelling on the negative and absolutist thinking (everything is an absolute disaster)
• What is depression?

  Depression is a mental disorder charicterised by low mood and low energy levels.
• What do you need to be given a depression diagnosis?

  You need to display at least 5 symptoms, every day for at least two weeks.
• What does the cognitive approach believe abnormalities, like depression, stem from? [2]

  Faulty cognitions about others, our world and self. This faulty thinking may be through cognitive deficiencies or cognitive distortions.
• What is the A stage of Ellis's ABC model? [2]

  This is the Activating event. An event occurs that triggers the irrational thoughts.
• What is the B stage of Ellis's ABC model?

  This is the beliefs stage. Your belief is your interpretation of the activating event, this can be either rational or irrational.
• What is the C stage of Ellis's ABC model?

  This is the consequences stage. According to Ellis rational beliefs lead to healthy emotional outcomes whereas irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotional outcomes like depression (try to state a characteristic if you can)
• What are the three parts of Beck's cognitive triad in order?

  1. Faulty information processing
  2. Negative self schema
  3. The negative triad
• What is the faulty information processing stage of Beck's cognitive triad?

  This is where depressed people tend to focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positive.
• What is the negative self-schema stage of Beck's cognitive triad?

  This is the package of information we have about ourselves. If a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way.
• What is the negative triad stage of Beck's cognitive triad?

  Beck suggests that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occur automatically:

  • The internal view of self - 'Nobody loves me'.
  • The global view of the world - 'The world is an unfair place'.
  • The fixed view of the future - 'Things will never get better'.
• What are the two types of cognitive behavioural therapy?

  Beck's Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT).
• What do the two Cognitive Behavioural Therapies start by doing?

  Initial assessment in which the patient and therapist identify the patients problems.

  Then the patient and therapist agree on a set of goals, and a plan of action to achive these goals.

  Next, the therapist aims to identify the negative and irrational thoughts.
• How does Beck's Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) differ from REBT? (Don't compare) [6]

  If the therapist is using Beck's CBT, they will help the patient to identify negative thoughts in relation to themselves, their world and their future, using Beck's negative triad.

  The patient and therapisy will then work together to challange these irrational thoughts, by discussing evidence for and against them.

  The patient will be encouraged to test the validity of their negative thoughts and may be set homework to challange and test their negative thoughts.
• How does Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) differ from Beck's CBT? (Don't compare) [4]

  Ellis developed his ABC model to include D (dispute) and E (effectiveness).

  Like Beck, the main idea is to challange irrational thoughts; however, with Ellis's theory this is achieved through 'dispute' (argument).

  The therapist will dispute the patient's irrational beliefs, to replace their irrational beliefs with more effective beliefs and attitudes.

  There are different types of disputes that can be used, including (name them)
• What are the two different types of disputes that can be used in Ellis's REBT?

  • Logical Disputes - where the therapist questions the logic of a person's thoughts: 'Does the way you're thinking about that situation make sense?'
  • Empirical Disputes - where the therapist seeks evidence for a person's thoughts: 'Where is the evidence that your beliefs are true?'
• What is the idea behind homework that follows after CBT and REBT sessions?

  The idea is that the patient will identify their own irrational beliefs and then prove them wrong and as a result, their beliefs begin to change.