Essay Sample on Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in Treating Depression: A Case Study

Introduction

Currently, depression is among the most common psychological disorder and various health professionals recommend CBT as efficient treatment. In developing countries, mental health problems are complex and challenging; therefore, it is vital to innovate an intervention that reduces the symptoms of depression effectively. This presentation investigates the effectiveness of CBT for treating depression. The case study is about a patient who experienced the death of her parents at a young age and was brought up by a family with domestic family. She was diagnosed with depression due to high suicidal thoughts after losing her job, withdrawal from loved, sleeplessness, and lack of concentration.

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Method

The key aim of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the treatment of depression is reducing the symptoms and improving patient’s welfare. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based talking therapy that majors on the relationship between people’s emotions, behaviours, and thoughts. CBT works by replacing false or negative thoughts with more realistic and healthier ones. CBT treatment involves a client and a therapist meeting in a period of five to twenty sessions. Every session lasts between 30 to 60 minutes. Patient M. therapy lasted for seven months after 14 sessions.

Engagement is a vital process when handling people with depression, and involves the development of a therapeutic relationship with the client. The therapist should not judge, listen, and creative to engage the client. The assessment provides detailed information about the client and the problem to be treated (depression). Both the therapist and client should set the goals to be accomplished at the end of CBT sessions. The goal-setting process should follow the SMART guideline for effectiveness. The assessment techniques include open questions like Who? When? Where? And closed questions like the number of times the client experiences negative thoughts. Also, recap, summaries, and feedbacks are vital techniques for the CBT process. The therapist formulates the information provided by the patient to communicate an understanding of the problem. Then, offers a framework plan indicating the priorities between event, thought, feeling, behaviour, and environment.

Also, the presentation discusses the leadership style that is more appropriate in CBT treatment for depression. Democratic leadership is the most applicable style in the CBT because it promotes communication between the therapist and the client. It promotes a strong connection between the therapist and the client. It helps the client feel comfortable, open up, and discuss their problem freely. Democratic leadership promotes the success and productivity of the therapy. Additionally, democratic leaders value the provision of feedback to assess the effectiveness of the therapy.

Results

The PDSA cycle indicated that CBT is efficient in treating depression and improving the patient's wellbeing. Nonetheless, completing a PDSA cycle might be very low than a direct implementation. At the end of the 14 sessions, Patient M. was discharged with decreased depressive symptoms, improved self-value, low suicidal thoughts, and increased connection with loved ones. Also, she mentioned that she did not experience difficulties in sleeping.

Conclusion

CBT treatment is an effective method of treating depression. Due to the effectiveness of CBT as indicated in the PDSA cycle, more attention must be placed to improve the CBT and patients’ experience. The results of the PDSA cycle assist mental health specialists to minimize the symptoms of depression and aid in making better changes.