Depression

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What type of disorder is depression?

What type of disorder is depression?

Affective mood disorder

What is depression?

Lengthy disturbance of emotions, affects about 20% of people who will experience body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and resistance to achievement. Depressive episodes can last between two and six months. 10% of severe depressive commit suicide.

How is depression diagnosed?

At least five symptoms must be apparent everyday for at least two weeks, with an impairment of functioning also evident (not account for by other events e.g. mourning or medical conditions.

What are the two main types of depression?

Unipolar depression

Bipolar depression (manic depression)

What are behavioural symptoms of depression?

Loss of energy

Social impairment

Weight changes

Poor personal hygiene

Sleep pattern disturbance

What are emotional symptoms of depression?

Loss of enthusiasm

Constant depressed mood

Worthlessness

What are cognitive symptoms of depression?

Delusions

Reduced concentration

Thoughts of death

Poor memory

How does the cognitive approach explain depression?

It is explained in terms of faulty or irrational thought processes and perceptions - focusing on maladapted cognitions that underpin maladaptive behaviours.

What is Beck’s Negative Triad (1987)?

Believed people become depressed because the world is seen through negative schemas which dominate thinking and are triggered when situations are similar to those in which the schemas were learnt - in childhood or adolescence.

This leads to cognitive bias (irrational ways of thinking) causing an individual to misperceive reality.

What are the types of negative schemas?

Ineptness schemas

Self-blame schemas

Negative self-evaluation schemas

What are ineptness schemas?

Make depressives expect to fail

What are self-blame schemas?

Makes depressives feel responsible for all misfortunes.

What are negative self-evaluation schemas?

Constantly remind depressives of their worthlessness.

What are the cognitive biases?

Arbitrary inference

Selective abstraction

Overgeneralisation

Magnification / Minimisation

What is arbitrary inference?

Conclusions drawn in the absence of sufficient evidence.

What is selective abstraction?

Conclusions drawn from just one part of a situation.

What is overgeneralisation?

Sweeping conclusions drawn on the basis of a single event.

What is magnification / minimisation?

Exaggerations in value of performance.

What are the three components of the negative triad?

1. The self - where individuals see themselves as inadequate.

2. The world - where obstacles are perceived as us unable to be dealt with.

3. The future - where personal worthlessness is seen as blocking any improvements.

What is Ellis’ ABC Model?

Believed that depressives mistakenly blame external events for their unhappiness but it is their misinterpretation of the event which causes their distress.

What are the components of Ellis’ ABC Model?

Activating Event

Beliefs

Consequences

What is the activating event in the ABC Model?

Something happening in the environment around you e.g. your teacher tells you she is unhappy with your work.

What is the beliefs in Ellis’ ABC Model?

You hold a belief about the event or situation e.g. you see yourself as a failure.

What is the consequences in Ellis’ ABC Model?

You have an emotional response to your belief e.g. a feeling of worthlessness.

How is Ellis’ ABC Model practical?

It is used as the basis of cognitive behavioural therapies e.g. REBT

What are strengths of the cognitive explanation of depression?

Lots of supporting evidence

Based on scientific principles - objective

High success with treatments e.g. CBT

Acknowledges other aspects e.g. genes, early experiences that lead to certain thinking patterns

What are limitations of the cognitive explanations of depression?

Less success in explaining/treating manic bipolar depression

Some believe not al depressed people have a distorted view but instead have more, accurate focus on the negative elements of situations

Most evidence is correlational

What is the genetic explanation of depression?

The idea that vulnerability to depression is inherited, supported by twin and adoption studies and more recently through gene-mapping.

What is the behavioural explanation of depression?

Depression can be the result of social learning were the individual imitates a depressed other.

What are the treatments of depression?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy

What is CBT?

Assists patients to identify irrational and maladaptive thoughts and alter them, by changing the underlying maladaptive thinking, it can cahnge the maladapted behaviour.

What is REBT?

Involves making patients’ irrational and negative thoughts more rational and positive. It involves reframing the process of the ABC model and seeing things more optimistically.

What is good about cognitive behavioural therapies?

After being educated on how to change their thought processes, the individual can then practice this themselves without the help of a therapist.

What are examples of Ellis’ irrational musturbatory beliefs?

‘I must be loved by everyone…otherwise everyone hates me’

‘I must be excellent in all aspects…otherwise i am worthless’

What did Embling (2002) find about the effectiveness of CBT?

It is most effective when combined with drug therapies and that those with external perfectionist personalities have poorer outcomes with CBT whereas those with self-orientated perfectionism mostly benefit from CBT.

What are strengths of CBT as a treatment for depression?

Most effective treatment - with fewest side effects

Better therapist = better outcomes

Short term treatment so is more cost effective

Long term benefits as techniques can be used to stop symptoms returning

What are limitations of CBT as a treatment for depression?

Unsure whether the theory is correct - does depression cause maladapted thinking or does maladaptive thinking cause depression

Ethical concerns as the therapist can become overly involved and the patient may become dependent on them

CBT unsuitable for those who struggle to concentrate

Not suitable for those with limited verbal communication skills.