4. Cognitive Models and Treatments

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about two cognitive models of depression and their corresponding treatments, focusing in particular on: (i) Ellis’s ABC model and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) which locates the causes of depression in our irrational beliefs; (ii) the role of the therapist in RET being to challenge these beliefs and help the patient to understand and their thoughts, feelings and behaviours; (iii) Beck’s Cognitive Triad and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), contrasting it to Ellis’ earlier model as a more collaborative and experimental approach; (iv) the different types of negative thought that constitute Beck’s Cognitive Triad; (v) how CBT aims to capture and challenge these thoughts; (vi) the behavioural aspect of CBT which aims to help those suffering from depression to recover a sense of mastery and pleasure in their daily activities.

Course

In this course, Professor Linda Gask (University of Manchester) explores the topic of depression. In the first lecture, we think about what depression is and how it can be diagnosed. In the second lecture, we think about different biological explanations for depression and consider available drug treatments. In the third lecture, we think about Freud’s psychodynamic model of depression. Next, we think about two cognitive models and their corresponding treatments: Ellis’s ABC Model and Rational Emotive Therapy and Beck’s Cognitive Triad and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In the fifth lecture, we introduce Seligman’s Learned Helplessness theory as a further psychological explanation for depression. In the sixth and final lecture, we conclude the course with a discussion of the social factors that may play a role in depression and underlines the importance of considering biological, psychological and social factors in conjunction.

Lecturer

Professor Linda Gask trained in medicine at the University of Edinburgh and in psychiatry in the North West of England. She was a 2000-2001 Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy based at the Center for Health Studies in Seattle. She has also worked as a consultant for the World Health Organisation and has been a zonal representative for the World Psychiatric Association.