COGNITIVE AND PSYCHOANALYTIC

Evaluate Cognitive and Psychoanalytic Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Depression

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Evaluate Cognitive and Psychoanalytic Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Depression

Introduction

This essay evaluates the role of cognitive and psychoanalytic approaches, models and interventions to develop the understanding and treatment of depression. The most common mental disorder witness in Britain is anxiety and depression. Depression is more common in women as compared to men, whereas the children are about 10 percent who have been treated for depression. Every out of the five older people one is a patient of depression. It can be evident from the rates of suicide in Britain that men commit suicide three times more as compared to the women because of depression. Additionally, UK has the highest rates of self-harm in Europe because of depression, which are 400 per 100,000 of the inhabitants (MHF, 2012).

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) identified various Axis I (Clinical) Disorder on the assessment of multi-axial to analyze the pertinent functional, social, psychological and environmental factors engaged in depression. These comprise (DD) Dysthymic Disorder, such as unusual eating patterns, sleep disturbance, low mood, lack of hope, and tiredness; but if these factors last for more than two years may lead to major depression, commonly known as “Double Depression.” Furthermore, Unipolar depression or (MDD) Major Depression Disorder is a recurrent episode or single disorder, which can be epitomize by the disturbance in the patterns of sleep, despair, decreased mood, and ubiquitous or increased anxiety (Moran, 2011, pp. 6a-6a).

Morris (2006, pp. 147-150) proposed Life Event and Contextualised Social Model of Depression, grounded on the “three system approach” that identifies cognitive behavioural therapy, highlighting physical - appetitive, focus and somatic; social and cognitive; perceive as amenable and causative to direct intervention.

Discussion

Whenever someone is in a bad mood the dark or negative thoughts naturally comes to his / her mind, and if a person is suffering from depression these thoughts become extremely negative. Even, the depression can take control over mind, and distort reality view. The two approaches namely, cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis therapy can helps in curing the patients of depression (Rau, et al., 2007, pp. 105-115).

This therapy was formulated during 1960s, to treat depression and is a good alternative therapy, quoted by a director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, Judith S. Beck, outside Philadelphia. She also stated that the cognitive therapy is “thoughts influence moods” (APA, 1994).

The effective methodology to defuse negative thoughts is through employing cognitive therapy. It can serve as a tool kit that can be used to tackle the negative thoughts of a depression patient. With the passage of time, this therapy can change the perception of a patient about the world. On the other hand, psychoanalysis therapy deals with depression patients by waking their unconscious thoughts, so that they become conscious again. Hence, they are able to see the situation from a different perspective. The objective of this therapy is to free ...