CiCC - Cognition - CBT

CiCC – Cognition – CBT

CBT = Type of psychotherapy developed in the 1960s, widely practiced around the world. Recommended to (by NICE) treat depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc. It is a talking and doing therapy. It is goal orientated. It explores how thoughts effect how we behave and teaches coping skills.

Cognitive Models

Not what happens to you but the view you have of it that matters.

ABC model

Activating event 🡪 Belief about the event 🡪 Consequences (emotional, behavioural)

Is it just thought that counts?

Cognitive models suggest unhelpful thoughts and thinking patterns are an integral part of emotional stress and that cognitive change is central to the change process in effective psychotherapy.

Behaviours also affect how we feel and the situation itself

Hot-Cross Bun model

Where do thoughts come from?

Our beliefs and attitudes (and schemas) influence our thoughts and thinking. These are learnt from our life experiences and their interaction about our unique genetics and temperament (personality).

Cognitive Behavioural Model

Mental health problems can be understood in terms of unhelpful or unrealistic beliefs, which influence how we make sense of the world, which influences our emotional reactions to events. (unhelpful events or unrealistic beliefs will cause emotional distress)

Cognitive Vulnerability Model

Beck’s Triad

Depression is characterised by a negative cognitive triad (biased view of oneself). Negative views about:

  • Self

  • World

  • Future

Evidence

Hundreds of studies have supported the cross-sectional model and cognitive vulnerability model. (Clark & Beck 2010)

Examples:

  • People with depression have more negative thoughts

  • Reduction of negative thoughts and thinking processes alleviates emotional distress

CBT was created by Beck to combat depression. It helps to identify and reinterpret thoughts in a more positive way. It is active and focuses on the here and now.

It offers an account of emotional distress and uses thought records to help identify patterns of thinking associated with painful emotional experiences.

In Practice

CBT involves collecting and weighing up evidence for unhelpful thoughts and to generate alternative ideas and testing them out with behavioural experiments.

Does it Work?

Large amount of evidence for the effectiveness of CBT for depression (DeRubeis et al 2005).

There is also evidence for the effectiveness of CBT on other disorders. (NICE and NHS recommend CBT for many disorders (e.g anxiety and depression)

Long term effects

Hollon et al followed up data from treatment responders in this study. It was found that cognitive therapy made patients less likely to relapse into depression (compared to those on alternative treatments).