Diagnosing Depression: Marys Case Essay -- Becks Cognitive Model

Mary is a 24 year old woman who has faced a series of traumatic events throughout her life. Mary's depression can be represented by the cognitive theory (Liese et al., 1997). The process in this theory can be shown through Beck's cognitive model (Liese et al., 1997). According to the model, Mary experiences depression because she holds incorrect negative views about herself, other people and the future and these beliefs take precedent over her actions, thoughts and emotions (Liese et al., 1997). According to the first stage in the model, Mary's early childhood experience is the primary contributor to her depression. Mary had experienced an instable childhood; her parents deemed unfit to care for her, leading to separation by Child Youth Services when she was two. This family dysfunction (by definition, disturbance or abnormality, not referring to abuse) provides the first risk factor of her depression. Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Studies have shown that destructive consequences on adult mental health are directly correlated by household dysfunction during childhood (Chapman et al., 2004). Freud's philosophy and the humanistic theory explains how this is a risk to Mary's depression, suggesting that humans possess an id that seeks gratification of unconditional acceptance (Reid & Sanders, 2010). It shows that Mary’s early family dysfunction forms the basis of her negative core belief that no one wants her, as this initial rejection of acceptance poses a question to her sense of belonging. Since Tracey is deficit of acceptance at a very young age, she learns to blame her circumstance on internal causes, increasing the risk factor for her depression in adulthood (Kosslyn, Rosenberg & Lambert, 2014). This goes deeper i... ...nosis can be useful, the extent of its helpfulness is debatable. Diagnosis in her case could have both detrimental and beneficial outcomes, depending on her individual mid-set. References Chapman, D. P., Whitfield, C. L., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Edwards, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2004). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 82, 217-225. Kosslyn, R.M., Rosenberg, R.S., & Lambert, A.J. (2014). Psychology in context (1st New Zealand ed.). Auckland, NZ: Pearson Education. Liese, B.S., & Beck, J.S. (1997). Cognitive therapy in supervision. In C.E. Watkins (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy supervision (pp. 114-133). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Read, J., & Sanders, P. (2010). A straight talking introduction to the causes of mental health problems Herefordshire, UK: PCCS Books.