Um hugræna atferlismeðferð og athafnasemismeðferð við þunglyndi

Abstract

A number of clinical trials have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in reducing depressive symptoms and preventing relapse among depressed patients. However little is known about why the therapy works. According to Beck et al. (1979) the active change mechanism in CBT are interventions that focus on cognitive structures or core schema. However, CBT is a multi component therapy and other factors might explain its success. The current article reviews the efficacy literature in CBT with a special focus on two large scale component analyses that indicate that behavior activation (BA), which is the first part of traditional CBT, is at least as effective as the full CBT package. Also, research on patient characteristics in relation to treatment response in CBT versus BA will be reviewed. The implications of these findings for treatment of depression in Iceland are discussed.