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Essay on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

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Cognitive behavioural therapy has been proven to be effective in the treatment of child and adolescent depression (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999; Harrington et al, 1998, March et al, 2004). There is general agreement in the clinical literature that the techniques of cognitive behavioural approaches to therapy are likely to be effective in treating depression (Brewin, 1996; Beech, 2000). In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (APA, 2000) the symptoms of depression are: loss of interest or enjoyment in activities; changing in weight and appetite; changes to sleep pattern; loss of energy; feeling worthless or guilty; suicidal thoughts; poor concentration and being either agitated or slowed up. The …show more content…

Two of these will be described in detail. Behavioural strategy consists of two parts: activity scheduling and graded task assignment. Activity scheduling in CBT for depression is one of the core therapeutic methods. (Beck et al., 1979). The Weekly Activity Schedule (WAS) is an essential tool for activity scheduling. Basically it is a simple timetable with the slot for every hour of every day. The first step in activity scheduling is as a self-monitoring tool starting to use WAS, then the therapist can gather the information about the patient’s activity. The next step would be according to a completed WAS making a plan for the future activity of patient. On the other hand, there is a Graded task assignment as well, which is the best general principle in planning activity. It aims to build up an activity step by step rather than jumping from no activity to being busy all the day at once. Because of depressed patient oversensitivity the therapist have to make sure to make a target which is not going to be a failure for the patient as it may cause a hopelessness again. The common problems in activity scheduling are: lake of pleasure, excessive standards and vague planning. Which the therapist should pay attention to avoid them. Early cognitive strategies: The goals of these strategies are trying to change the patient’s attitude and behaviour toward Negative

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