CBT
Evaluate (8)
One strength of cognitive behavioural therapy is that it is effective. This therapy
aims to replace the negative core beliefs in a person with depression and to test those
beliefs through homework given in between the sessions. The therapist also gives some
behavioural challenges to carry out for the client in their own time, such as exercise or
initiating a conversation at work. Kuyken et al. (2008) found that CBT was more
effective at preventing relapse and improving quality of life compared to antidepressant
treatment. This means that CBT is more effective by challenging and replacing negative
core beliefs, which in turn may help the patient get relief from their affective symptoms,
such as feelings of unworthiness and excessive, inappropriate guilt. This is a strength
as treatment resistant patients with depression can undergo this form of therapy
instead and are able to manage their depressive symptoms more effectively, thus
improving their quality of life. However, CBT may be too simplistic as it does not seek to
explore the client’s past issues which may influence the onset of depression, but
instead aims to change how the person thinks about themselves and the world. This
may limit the effectiveness of CBT as a treatment for depression as unresolved past
issues may mean that the patient may not be able to change how they think about
themselves very easily, therefore CBT may not work.
One weakness of CBT is that it is reductionist. The client and the therapist work
together to investigate the client’s negative and irrational beliefs by discussing evidence
for and against them. The therapist tries to challenge the client’s negative automatic
thinking and offer alternative ways of thinking about the problematic situation. However,
it has been known that people with depression often have a family history with
depression. This means that since genes are likely to be involved in the onset of
depression, it may be difficult to treat clients with depression through CBT as biological
factors can’t be changed just by thinking differently. This is a weakness as any
improvements after the therapy may only be temporary, so the client may relapse again
since they have a vulnerable genetic make up. On the other hand, Hollon (2002) found
that CBT performs well in drug trials and is as effective as drug treatment. This means
that the therapy may still be an effective treatment for depression, especially for
patients who don’t respond to medication.
In conclusion, CBT is based on the negative cognitive triad, hence it aims to
change the person’s faulty thinking by setting them behavioural tasks and acting in a
non-judgemental way so that the client doesn’t think about themselves for their faulty
thinking. CBT has been shown to be more effective than drug treatment in preventing
Evaluate (8)
One strength of cognitive behavioural therapy is that it is effective. This therapy
aims to replace the negative core beliefs in a person with depression and to test those
beliefs through homework given in between the sessions. The therapist also gives some
behavioural challenges to carry out for the client in their own time, such as exercise or
initiating a conversation at work. Kuyken et al. (2008) found that CBT was more
effective at preventing relapse and improving quality of life compared to antidepressant
treatment. This means that CBT is more effective by challenging and replacing negative
core beliefs, which in turn may help the patient get relief from their affective symptoms,
such as feelings of unworthiness and excessive, inappropriate guilt. This is a strength
as treatment resistant patients with depression can undergo this form of therapy
instead and are able to manage their depressive symptoms more effectively, thus
improving their quality of life. However, CBT may be too simplistic as it does not seek to
explore the client’s past issues which may influence the onset of depression, but
instead aims to change how the person thinks about themselves and the world. This
may limit the effectiveness of CBT as a treatment for depression as unresolved past
issues may mean that the patient may not be able to change how they think about
themselves very easily, therefore CBT may not work.
One weakness of CBT is that it is reductionist. The client and the therapist work
together to investigate the client’s negative and irrational beliefs by discussing evidence
for and against them. The therapist tries to challenge the client’s negative automatic
thinking and offer alternative ways of thinking about the problematic situation. However,
it has been known that people with depression often have a family history with
depression. This means that since genes are likely to be involved in the onset of
depression, it may be difficult to treat clients with depression through CBT as biological
factors can’t be changed just by thinking differently. This is a weakness as any
improvements after the therapy may only be temporary, so the client may relapse again
since they have a vulnerable genetic make up. On the other hand, Hollon (2002) found
that CBT performs well in drug trials and is as effective as drug treatment. This means
that the therapy may still be an effective treatment for depression, especially for
patients who don’t respond to medication.
In conclusion, CBT is based on the negative cognitive triad, hence it aims to
change the person’s faulty thinking by setting them behavioural tasks and acting in a
non-judgemental way so that the client doesn’t think about themselves for their faulty
thinking. CBT has been shown to be more effective than drug treatment in preventing
