Overview of Cognitive Therapy for Depression

1. Introduction to Cognitive Therapy
- Overview of cognitive therapy for depression based on Beck's model.
- Importance of understanding treatment structure for new therapists.

2. Structure of a Typical Session
- Collaborative agenda setting with the patient.
- Assessing the patient's mood and subjective reports.
- Reviewing homework from previous sessions.

3. Key Components of Each Session
- Discussing patient agenda items and recent incidents.
- Introducing or reviewing specific skills to address concerns.
- Formulating new homework tasks and identifying potential barriers.

4. Importance of Patient Feedback
- Encouraging patients to summarise session points.
- Gathering feedback on the session to foster open dialogue.

5. Session Breakdown
- Session 1:
- Conduct assessment and measure depression (e.g., PHQ9).
- Discuss patient expectations and urgent problems.
- Introduce activity diary as homework.
- Session 2:
- Review questionnaires and patient symptoms.
- Analyse the activity schedule and set new homework.
- Session 3:
- Review mastery and pleasure ratings.
- Elicit thoughts related to emotions and set new tasks.
- Session 4:
- Discuss negative automatic thoughts and distortions.
- Set homework to record cognitions and alternative explanations.

6. Continuing Sessions (5-12)
- Session 5: Focus on mastery and pleasure ratings, continue thought challenging.
- Sessions 6-8: Introduce basic assumptions and theory building.
- Sessions 8-12: Increase patient responsibility for agenda and homework.

7. Final Sessions (13-20)
- Sessions 13-15: Preparation for discharge, anticipate problems, rehearse coping strategies.
- Final Session: Consolidation of gains, maintenance plan for progress.

8. Conclusion
- Recap of the session overview and encouragement to take notes.
- Emphasis on the importance of cognitive therapy skills for long-term patient benefit.