Cognitive Therapy for Depression

Abstract

The development of cognitive therapy, one of the most promising interventions for the treatment of depression and other nonpsychotic disorders, has been strongly influenced by basic research in social and cognitive psychology. The approach is predicated on a two-factor cognitive theory of emotion and accords a central role to the operation of schematic knowledge structures and information-processing heuristics. Procedures designed to produce change in existing depresotypic beliefs are grounded in principles emerging from that basic literature, and strategies derived from attribution theory appear to contribute to the apparent capacity of cognitive therapy to prevent the emergence of future depressive episodes. Clearly, the development and articulation of cognitive therapy have benefited greatly from basic research in experimental social and cognitive psychology.