INTRODUCTION
Psychological health problems like stress, anxiety and depression can
be partly triggered by external stressful events that happen to us such as difficult childhood, bereavement, divorce, redundancy
and internal stressors like excess guilt, anger, fear etc. However research has also shown that it's not so much external
events but out individual interpretation of these events that can play a crucial role in triggering and maintaining problems
like stress, anxiety and depression. Stress, anxiety and depression have been shown to have a negative effect on our
brain chemistry and this combined with psychological factors can effect our thinking style making us more vulnerable to developing
anxiety and depression.
Psychological therapies like counselling have been shown to play an important
role in helping us to recover and also help to reduce the chance of suffering a future relapse.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
There are over 400 different types of counselling, however one of the most researched and proven to be therapeutically
effectiveis called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and we would encourage you to discuss CBT with your GP. The problem
is that when we become clinically anxious or depressed we tend to be given a prescription for antidepressants. While
these can be vital and life saving they don't address the psychological factors like negative thinking. Research has
shown that when medication is combined with CBT the therapeutic effects are superior than either one on their own.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
CBT is a relatively new type of psychological counselling that has been developed by Psychiatrist Aaron
Beck ph.D in the 1960's and refined into its present day format. It is a relatively short treatment, consisting of up
to 10 - 15 treatment sessions. It helps us to identify the thinking errors that contribute to our negative
thinking and exacerbate our anxiety and depression, and replaces them with a more accurate and positive way of thinking.
USEFUL WEBSITES ON COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
www.babcp.com/publications/leaflet1.htm
www.cognitivetherapy.com
USEFUL ARTICLES ON COGNITIVE THERAPY
Cognitive Therapy for Depression
USEFUL BOOKS ON COGNITIVE THERAPY
1. Blackburn Ivy (1987) Coping
with Depression, W & R Chambers Ltd, Edinburgh.
2. Burns D. (1990) The Feeling Good Handbook, Penguin Group.
3. Greenberger D. and Padesky C. (1995) Mind over Mood: Change how you
Feel by Changing the Way you Think, Guildford Books.
4. Davis M. (1997) Thoughts and Feelings: A Workbook or Cognitive Behavioural Techniques, New Harbinger
inc.
|