AQA A Level Psychology复习笔记4.3.3 Cognitive Treatments of Depression

• The most commonly used psychological treatment used to treat depression is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).
• CBT is a cognitive treatment, although it does have behavioural elements within it: As the name suggests.
• Both of the below therapies are forms of CBT.

Beck's cognitive therapy 

• Cognitive Therapy is the application of Beck's theory of depression
• As behaviour is seen to be generated by thinking, the most logical and effective way to change maladaptive behaviour is to change the irrational thinking which underlies it
• CBT assists clients (Beck did not like the word patient as it was felt to take power from the person) to identify their irrational thoughts (from the negative triad)
• Once  have identified their irrational thoughts, CBT helps patients change them
• To change the irrational thoughts, the patient challenges these thoughts directly and the therapist can also assist the client in challenging the reality of their irrational thoughts
• Client are often set homework to record positive events, which can be used in the sessions to help them challenge their irrational thoughts
• For example, the patient may say to the therapist, 'Everyone hates me', however, due to the homework completed by the client, they have recorded a social event where they went with close friends and had a good time
• This allows the therapist to directly confront the client with evidence to show them it is an irrational thought or to at least look for other reasons why people may have acted the way they did
• For example: A friend ignores you when you see them in town but it may be that they did not see you or were really distracted

Ellis's Rational Emotive Behaviour (REBT) 

• REBT extends Ellis's ABC model to ABCDE (D is for Dispute and E is for Effect)
• The main technique for REBT is to identify and challenge irrational thoughts
• Example:
  • A client (again, the term patient was felt to take power from the person) talks to their therapist about the fact that everyone hates them
  • A REBT would challenge these thoughts and argue with the client, the argument would be a strong argument where they challenge the specific irrational thought
  • The therapist intends to break the link between the negative life effects and depression by changing the clients irrational belief
  • There are different types of arguments identified by Ellis;
    • Empirical arguments: Disputing if there is real evidence to support the irrational belief
    • Logical arguments: Disputing if there negative effect follows logically from the facts