Depression

Question 1

What are the main symptoms of depression?

Answer 1

• low mood
• difficulty concentrating
• irrational negative beliefs
• loss of pleasure
• change in appetite
• change in sleep pattern
• social withdrawal

Question 2

Which symptoms are emotional?

Answer 2

• low mood
• loss of pleasure

Question 3

Which symptoms are cognitive?

Answer 3

• irrational negative beliefs
• difficulty concentrating

Question 4

Which symptoms are behavioural?

Answer 4

• social withdrawal
• change in appetite
• change in sleep patterns

Question 5

To be diagnosed with depression, a person must experience…

Answer 5

• at least one emotional symptom
• at least five symptoms of depression
• more than two weeks of symptoms

Question 6

What’s manic depression?

Answer 6

• when a person cycles between depressive episodes and manic episodes
• a manic episode is a period of high mood which lasts for at least one week
• a depressive episode is a period of low mood which lasts for at least one week

Question 7

what are the two types of depression?

Answer 7

• manic depression
• major depression

Question 8

Cognitive explanations of depression - Ellis’ ABC Model

Answer 8

• ellis believed depression resulted from irrational thoughts and blaming external events for unhappiness
• activating event, belief, consequence

Question 9

what’s the activating event?

Answer 9

an external event, usually of negative nature

Question 10

what’s the belief?

Answer 10

you hold a belief about the event, usually irrational

Question 11

what’s the consequence?

Answer 11

an emotional response to your belief

Question 12

weakness of ABC model - partial explanation

Answer 12

• some forms of depression don’t have an activating event
• Ellis’ explanation only applies to some types of depression
• therefore, it’s only a partial explanation

Question 13

strength of ABC model - practical application in CBT

Answer 13

• has led to successful therapy
• by challenging irrational negative beliefs, depression can be reduced

Question 14

weakness of ABC model - doesn’t explain all aspects of depression

Answer 14

doesn’t explain the anger associated with depression

Question 15

weakness of ABC model - Wender et al (1986)

Answer 15

• found that adopted children who develop depression were more likely to have a depressed biological parent, even though they’re raised in a different environment
• implies that biological factors are more important than cognitive ones

Question 16

what’s Beck’s cognitive theory of depression?

Answer 16

• faulty information processing
• negative self-schemas
• the negative triad

Question 17

what’s faulty information processing/cognitive bias?

Answer 17

• when depressed, you tend to focus on the negative and ignore the positive
• you also tend to think in ‘black and white’ terms
• arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, overgeneralisation, magnification and minimisation

Question 18

what’s arbitrary inference?

Answer 18

conclusions drawn in the absence of sufficient evidence

Question 19

what’s selective abstraction?

Answer 19

conclusions drawn from just one part of a situation

Question 20

what’s overgeneralisation?

Answer 20

coming to conclusions drawn on the basis of a single event

Question 21

what’s magnification and minimisation?

Answer 21

exaggerations in evaluation of performance

Question 22

what are negative self-schemas?

Answer 22

• a schema is a mental package of ideas and information developed through experience
• act as a mental framework
• a self-schema is the package we have about ourselves
• we interpret ourselves in a negative way
• negative cognitive bias strengthens negative schemas

Question 23

what’s the negative triad?

Answer 23

• negative view of the self (low self-esteem, feeling worthless)
• negative view of the world (obstacles in the environment, no hope)
• negative view of the future (no way to improve)

Question 24

strength of Beck’s theory - supporting evidence

Answer 24

Boury et al (2001)
- monitored students’ negative thoughts with the Beck depression inventory (BDI)
- found depressives misinterpret facts and experiences in a negative way and feel hopeless about the future
- however, this sample is limited so therefore can’t be generalised

Question 25

strength of Beck's theory - practical application in CBT

Answer 25

- forms the basis of CBT - therapists can challenge cognitive aspects of depression - leads to successful therapy and treated depression

Question 26

weakness of Beck's theory - doesn't explain all aspects of depression

Answer 26

- explains only basic symptoms - some depressed patients are angry, Beck can't explain this - some suffer hallucinations

Question 27

weakness of Beck's theory - other approaches may explain depression better

Answer 27

- the genetic explanation focuses on the idea that vulnerability to depression is inherited - researched through twin and adoption studies - gene-mapping used - however, two explanations may be combined

Question 28

cognitive approach to treating depression - CBT

Answer 28

- most common psychological treatment for depression - assessment (identify problem), identify irrational thoughts, work to change irrational thoughts - Beck's cognitive therapy - Ellis' rational emotive behaviour therapy

Question 29

what's Beck's cognitive therapy?

Answer 29

- identify thoughts about the world, self, and future and challenge them - patient asked to investigate the reality of their negative beliefs (homework) - can be used as evidence in future sessions

Question 30

what's Ellis' rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)?

Answer 30

- involves making patients' irrational negative thoughts rational and positive - technique is to identify and challenge thoughts - uses ABC model to record irrational beliefs

Question 31

how does REBT work?

Answer 31

- challenge negative thoughts by reinterpreting ABC in a more positive way - patients are told to practice positive, optimistic thinking - educational phase - break link between negative life events and depression using the empirical argument (is there evidence to support negative belief?) and the logical argument (does negative thought logically follow from fact?) - behavioural activation - therapist encourages patient to become more active and engaged in enjoyable activities - after patient has experienced improvement, they're taught to identify faulty thinking and challenge it - between sessions, patient is given goals to boost self esteem - hypothesis testing of negative thoughts

Question 32

strength of CBT - supporting research

Answer 32

David et al (2008) - 170 patients suffering with major depression were treated with 14 weeks of REBT - found they had better outcomes than those treated with drugs six months after treatment - suggests that REBT is a better long-term treatment than drug therapy

Question 33

weakness of CBT - might not work for all cases

Answer 33

- in some cases, depression can be so severe that patients lack motivation to engage with therapy - difficulty concentrating in sessions - feel overwhelmed, strengthening depressive symptoms - patients may be treated with antidepressants initially, and attend CBT when they're more motivated - therefore, CBT can't be used as a sole treatment for all cases

Question 34

strength of CBT - no side effects

Answer 34

- no side effects unlike drug therapy - may encourage more people to try it

Question 35

strength of CBT - cost effective

Answer 35

- occurs over a short period of time and stops symptoms returning so is cost effective - gives patients practical techniques to use after CBT has ended so they're in control

Question 36

weakness of CBT - some people want to explore their past

Answer 36

- CBT only focuses on the present and the future - some people are aware of the link between their childhood experiences and current depression and want to explore this

Question 37

weakness of CBT - ethical concerns

Answer 37

- may be too therapist centred - therapists may abuse their power and force patients into certain ways of thinking - depressed patients are usually vulnerable and can become dependent on their therapists