Cognitive approach to abnormality applied to depression

Depression…read more

A01 - DSM definition of Depression
Depressed mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in life activities for at least 2 weeks and at
least five of the following symptoms that cause clinically significant impairment in social, work,
or other important areas of functioning almost every day
1.Depressed mood most of the day.
2.Diminished interest or pleasure in all or most activities.
3.Significant unintentional weight loss or gain.
4.Insomnia or sleeping too much.
5.Agitation or psychomotor retardation noticed by others.
6.Fatigue or loss of energy.
7.Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt.
8.Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.
9.Recurrent thoughts of death…read more

A01 ­ defining depression as a deviation from
ideal mental health
Deviation from ideal mental health
What is ideal mental health?
According to Jahoda (1958) it is more useful to define abnormality in terms of
understanding what is normal behaviour rather than abnormal. Jahoda listed 6
characteristics of ideal mental health, and not possessing these would be seen as
abnormal according to this definition.
Being in touch with one's own identity and feelings.
· Resistance to stress.
· Focused on the future and self-actualisation.
· Function as an autonomous individual and recognise their own needs.
· Have an accurate perception of reality, and be neither overly pessimistic nor overly
optimistic.
· Be able to master the environment and adapt to change.…read more

AO2 ­ Strength and weakness of DIMH
Strength: This is a positive
Weakness: The criteria to meet
approach to the definition of
are incredibly demanding,
abnormality and focusses on
therefore most people would be
characteristics indicative of
considered abnormal.
mental health.…read more

AO1 ­ Explaining depression according to the
cognitive model
The main assumptions of the cognitive model are:
· Abnormal behaviour is caused by faulty or abnormal thinking processes.
· We interact with the world through our mental representation of it. If our mental
representations are inaccurate or our reasoning is inadequate then our emotions
and behaviour may become disordered.
Example: A patient suffering
from a depressed mood
after failing a driving test
Fail Driving Test Give Up Think you'll fail at
Maladaptive may be having negative
everything Don't try Drop out of school
Response thoughts not only about that
Become depressed.
specific failure but may be
generalising those to other
areas of her life. She may
Adaptive Fail Driving Test Take more lessons Take believe she is a failure in all
Response another test Pass Driving Test Second Time aspects of her life and will
never be successful again.…read more

AO2 ­ Strength and weakness of the
cognitive explanation
Weakness: Blames the patient
rather than the situational factor.
Strength: There is a lot of research This may lead to the person
to back up the evidence of the overlooking situational factor ­
cognitive model and offers and for example not considering how
optimistic view of personality. life or family events could have
contributed to the mental
disorder.…read more