Question:
Discuss the causes of depression from the cognitive-behavioral side?
Answer:
Cognitive theories came into limelight as a response to the failures by the early behaviorists who could not take feelings and thoughts seriously. They usually address the mental events that can be considered into the framework of behavior (Lorenzo-Luaces, German & DeRubeis, 2015).
The theorists believe that depression generally results from faulty, irrational or maladaptive cognitions that take the form of judgments and thoughts that are distorted. The main argument of Beck was that depression was generally formed by one’s view of oneself. It do not imply on having a negative impression about oneself during depression. This has a strong implication on how individuals and groups perceive themselves (Power, & Dalgleish, 2015).
The next argument about the cognitive theory of depression was the study of sociotropy-autonomy scale by Beck. The scale identified feelings for oneself that could be the possible cause for depression, individualistic achievement, independence and interpersonal insensitivity. After the study, a strong correlation was found between depression and sociotropy that can be related to underlying emotions and thoughts (Waugh, & Koster, 2015).
A fundamental part of Beck’s study reveals that the beliefs of the individuals fall under a specific category, which makes a separation between anxiety disorders and panic. Therefore, the main and fundamental feelings of depression are loss and failure, according to Beck. Thoughts of failure and loss were predictive of depression while cognitions of danger and harm were usually related to anxiety (Izard, 2013).
Therefore, Beck’s cognitive theory has catalyzed the working process that involves depression and cognitive theory. The theory can be researched largely. However, the research on depression relies on the said theory.
References
Izard, C. E. (2013). Patterns of emotions: A new analysis of anxiety and depression. Academic Press.
Lorenzo-Luaces, L., German, R. E., & DeRubeis, R. J. (2015). It’s complicated: The relation between cognitive change procedures, cognitive change, and symptom change in cognitive therapy for depression. Clinical psychology review, 41, 3-15.
Power, M., & Dalgleish, T. (2015). Cognition and emotion: From order to disorder. Psychology press.
Waugh, C. E., & Koster, E. H. (2015). A resilience framework for promoting stable remission from depression. Clinical psychology review, 41, 49-60.
