Mood disorders: treatment and management

Psychology A2 · Clinical Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All Psychology A2 topics

The idea

Anti-depressants raise the amount of monoamines available at the synapse. Tricyclics block the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline. MAOIs stop the enzyme monoamine oxidase from breaking monoamines down. SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin only, so they have fewer side effects and are usually tried first. All take a few weeks to lift mood.

Psychological therapies change thinking. In Beck's cognitive restructuring, client and therapist find negative automatic thoughts, test them against evidence and replace them with realistic ones. In Ellis's REBT, the therapist disputes irrational beliefs, using the ABC model: it is the belief about an event, not the event, that causes the emotional result.

Rules to remember

Tricyclics: block reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline; more side effects and dangerous in overdose.
MAOIs: inhibit monoamine oxidase; foods with tyramine (such as mature cheese) must be avoided because blood pressure can rise dangerously.
SSRIs: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; usually the first choice.
Beck: treat a negative thought as a hypothesis and test it, for example with a thought diary or a behavioural experiment.
Ellis's ABCDE: Activating event, Belief, Consequence, Disputing, Effect.
REBT replaces rigid demands ('I must', 'I should') with flexible preferences.
Drugs act faster and need little effort; cognitive therapy teaches skills that may lower relapse.

Common mistake

Students say the activating event (A) causes the emotional consequence (C). In REBT it is the belief (B) about the event that causes C, so therapy targets B.

Worked example

Bina's friend does not reply to a message. Bina thinks, 'Everyone must like me or I am worthless,' and feels miserable all evening. Label A, B and C, and say what an REBT therapist would target.

A (activating event): the friend does not reply.
B (belief): 'Everyone must like me or I am worthless', a rigid, irrational demand.
C (consequence): feeling miserable all evening.
The therapist disputes B (D) so that a more rational belief and calmer feeling follow (E).

Answer: A is the unanswered message, B the irrational 'must' belief, C the misery; the therapist disputes B.

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Keep going

← Mood disorders: explanations of depressive disorder Impulse control disorders: diagnostic criteria →Take a Psychology A2 test