Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?
Depression is a mood disorder. It involves a person’s thoughts, actions, interactions with other people, body, appetite, and sleep. Depression is not the same as a passing blue mood; it is never a “normal” part of life. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better.

• Depression is quite common. At any given time, there are between 15 million and 20 million people in the United States who have depression.
• A person of any age, race, or ethnic group may suffer from depression.
• Without treatment, depression can last for weeks, months, or years.
• Depression can be very serious. Up to 15% of people diagnosed with depression eventually commit suicide, so treatment is very important.

WHAT IS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT for short) is an approach to treating depression. CBT can be used with individuals or groups. This guidebook describes group treatment.

As the name suggests, CBT focuses on cognition (thinking) and behavior (acting). People who suffer from depression can make remarkable progress if they change the way they think about their lives and how they act. “Acting” includes doing activities such as taking a shower or going to a movie, and interacting with other people.

Part of your job as a group leader will be to help people:
• Take a closer look at their thoughts and make changes in their thinking that will help them feel better.
• Understand that if they engage in activities they will begin to feel less depressed.
• Identify healthy ways to interact with other people.

Of course, people cannot change every negative aspect of the world around them. We can’t all by ourselves control the traffic or the crime rate, for example. But there are many things we can change. As people who are depressed become aware of the way that thoughts and behaviors affect mood, they can feel happier and more hopeful even if their lives don’t change. Instead of being something that just happens, depression becomes something that can be managed.

The CBT structure consists of four modules. A module consists of four sessions, each of which emphasizes a specific topic and its connection to mood. As shown in the figure below, the modules focus on thoughts, activities, people interactions, and substance abuse. Each module has its own guidebook.