Understanding Anxiety, Depression and CBT
Improve your understanding of depression and anxiety and find out more about an effective and evidence-based treatment: CBT.
Who is the course for?
This beginner’s course is aimed at anyone with an interest in mental illness generally, and anxiety and depression in particular. This may include:
• those who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced emotional difficulties,
• family and friends of those who are experiencing emotional difficulties,
• primary (or other) healthcare professionals who have a frontline role in detecting mental health difficulties and offering appropriate support and guidance to those affected.
What topics will you cover?
Week 1 provides an introduction to how we perceive the world around us and how this relates to the Cognitive Behavioural approach to anxiety and depression. It explores how CBT can be delivered and the types of difficulties it can help.
Week 2 looks at depression within a CBT framework, exploring what depression is (and is not) as well as highlighting commonly held myths and stereotypes around depression.
Week 3 explores anxiety within a CBT framework. It covers the function and positive role of ‘normal’ anxiety exploring the difference between ‘normal’ anxiety and anxiety disorders.
Week 4 focuses on how behaviour changes in anxiety and depression, how these changes can maintain difficulties and how CBT techniques are used in therapy to address them.
Week 5 focuses on ‘cognitions’ or thoughts
specifically the types of thoughts which commonly occur in anxiety and depression, how they maintain difficulties and what CBT techniques are used in therapy to address them.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…
Describe the key signs and symptoms of depression and identify how a depressive disorder differs from simply feeling low or down.
Describe how a depressive disorder is diagnosed and identify an appropriate assessment tool.
Describe the key signs and symptoms of the most frequently occurring anxiety disorders and identify how anxiety disorders differ from simply feeling worried or nervous.
Describe how anxiety disorders are diagnosed and identify an appropriate assessment tool.
Identify the most common stereotypes surrounding anxiety and depression and evaluate them on the basis of current knowledge.
Describe how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be delivered and identify the types of difficulties that it can help with.
