Three concepts explain the psychological basis of depression according to Beck: (1) the cognitive triad, (2) negative self-schemas, and (3) cognitive errors in information processing. Beck believed depressed individuals develop negative self-schemas and make systematic errors in thinking by making arbitrary inferences, selective abstractions, overgeneralizations, and other cognitive distortions. Assertiveness training, which teaches direct but respectful communication, can be an effective treatment for depression and other issues. Beck developed several widely-used scales to measure depression, anxiety, cognitive insight, and other psychological constructs.

2. MADIHA QAMMAR

4. Aaron Temkin Beck
“To understand the heart and
mind of a person, look not at
what he has already achieved,
but at what he aspires to.”
KhalilGibran

5. Threespecific concepts explainthe
psychological substrate of depression:
(1) The cognitive triad
(2) NegativeSelfSchemas
(3) CognitiveErrors (faulty information
Processing).

9. Negative Self-Schemas
 Beck believed that depression prone individuals
develop a negative self-schema.
 They possess a set of beliefs and expectations about
themselves that are essentially negative and
pessimistic. Beck claimed that negative schemas may
be acquired in childhood as a result of a traumatic
event.

11. Faulty Information processing
(cognitive errors)
 Systematic errors in the thinking of the depressed
person maintain the patient's belief in the validity of
his negative concepts despite the presence of
contradictory evidence.
 Include:
 Arbitrary Inference
 Selective Abstraction
 Overgeneralization
 Magnification & Minimization
 Personalization
 Absolutistic, Dichotomous Thinking

12. Types of Faulty Information Processing
 Arbitrary Inference
refers to the process of
drawing a specific
conclusion on the
absence of evidence to
support the conclusion
or when the evidence is
contrary to the
conclusion.
 a response set
 Selective abstraction
consists of focusing on a
detail taken out of
context, ignoring other
more salient feature of
the situation and
conceptualizing the
whole experience on the
basis of this fragment.
 a stimulus set

13. Types of Faulty Information Processing
(cont.)
 Overgeneralization:
refers to the pattern of
drawing a general rule
or conclusion on the
basis of one or more
isolated incidents and
applying the concept
across the board to
related and unrelated
situation.
 a response set
 Magnification and
minimization: seen in
errors in evaluating the
significance or
magnitude of an event
those are so gross as to
constitute a distortion
 a response set

14. Types of Faulty Information Processing
(cont.)
 Personalization: the
proclivity to relate
external e vents to oneself
when there is no basis for
making such a
connection.
 a response set
 Absolutistic
(dichotomous thinking)
is manifested in the
tendency to place all
experience sin one of two
opposite categories; for
example, flawless or
defective, immaculate or
filthy, saint or sinner. In
describing oneself,
extreme negative
categorizations are
selected.
 a response set

16. Assertiveness Training
 Assertiveness:
Assertiveness can be defined as communication in which
one expresses oneself in a direct and honest manner in
interpersonal situations, while simultaneously
respecting the rights and dignity of others.

17. Assertiveness Training
Assertiveness training can be an effective treatment
for certain conditions, such as depression, social
anxiety, and problems resulting from unexpressed
anger. Assertiveness training can also be useful for
those who wish to improve their interpersonal skills
and sense of self-respect.

18. Beck Scales and Inventories
Dr. Beck has developed and validated many measures
that are widely-used in both research and clinical
settings. Below is a sample of Dr. Beck's scales.
 Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
 Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
 Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)
 Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS)
 Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)

19. Beck Scales and Inventories(cont.)
 Beck Youth Inventories
 Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS)
 Personality Belief Questionnaire (PBQ)
 The Socio trophy-Autonomy Scale (SAS)
 Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI)

20. Strengths of CBI
 Model has great appeal because it focuses on human
thought. Human cognitive abilities have been responsible
for our many accomplishments so may also be responsible
for our problems.
 Cognitive theories lend themselves to testing. When
experimental subjects are manipulated into adopting
unpleasant assumptions or thought they became more
anxious and depressed (Rimm & Litvak, 1969).
 Many people with psychological disorders, particularly
depressive, anxiety, and sexual disorders have been found
to display maladaptive assumptions and thoughts (Beck et
al., 1983).

21. Weaknesses of CBI
 Requires clients to be attuned to nuances in mood or
attentive to previously unconscious thoughts.
 Can be overly prescriptive and ignore individual
factors
 Requires the ability to think abstractly (i.e. to think
about thinking).
 May not be as depth orientated as some clients may
prefer or see as necessary for change

22. Conclusion
 All counseling approaches have both their merits and
their limitations.
 Cognitive behavior Therapies are popular for their
broad application, scientific validation and the
structure they can create for counseling.
 Cognitive behavioral approaches teach clients the
skills of evaluating their own thought patterns, and as
such, this approach can be successfully transferred to
situations outside of the counseling room.