The Beck Depression Scale is one of the most well-known tests to determine the severity of a depressive disorder. The technique is suitable for both adults and adolescents, and therefore is often used in the practice of a school psychologist. In addition, the Beck Depression Scale can also be used for self-examination.
About the creator of the technique
Developed a technique by Aaron Beck, an American cognitive psychologist. As a child, Beck received a severe head injury, which caused him to develop a serious illness. This pathology was accompanied by fears: Aaron was afraid to suffocate, to be alone, had great excitement before public speaking and constantly imagined that he would die from a head injury or intense bleeding.
The mother of the future psychologist was depressed after losing her eldest and only daughter - Beck's sister died during the flu epidemic in 1919. Perhaps the psychological state of the mother was one of the reasons why the scientist began to study with interest the neurotic disorders. And it may very well be that the scale of depression by E. Beck was designed so that with its help other people could alleviate their suffering, so similar to the mental torment of his mother.
Cognitive Psychology About Depression
Aaron Beck studied the dreams of depressed patients and compared them with stories about healthy people's own dreams. The scientist wanted to refute the psychoanalytic ideas that neurotic patients have a certain “need to suffer”, due to which their psychological state remains depressed and depressed.
The results of the study surprised the scientist: in their content, the dreams of depressed patients and healthy people were similar. Beck conducted a series of practical tests, on the basis of which in the 1950s he put forward a new theory of depression.
According to the provisions of cognitive psychology, such a disorder occurs when a person's perceptual processes are significantly distorted. Neurotic patients suffer from fear of the future, and think of themselves exclusively in a negative way. Such cognitive distortions arise due to a person's incorrect perception of his life experience. Aaron Beck proposed a new model of psychological counseling aimed at eliminating such "wrong", maladaptive thoughts.
Beck Depression Scale. The essence of the technique
Beck first published his scale of depression in 1961. The material for its development was the clinical cases of patient volunteers, as well as data obtained by a psychologist during introspection.
The Beck scale is suitable for assessing depression in all its manifestations and, in addition, for analyzing individual characteristic expressions of a disorder. There are 21 questions in the test, each of which implies a specific neurotic symptom. Based on the responses of the test subject, one can form an opinion about the course of depression in him, its most characteristic manifestations, predict treatment, and evaluate the success of the therapy.
The Beck scale is also used for self-assessment of depression. The procedure for testing and processing the data obtained is extremely simple, so that anyone who wants to test themselves can do this without much difficulty.
Testing Procedure and Questionnaire Instructions
In the 60s of the last century, when the methodology existed in its original form, the testing procedure was different from that proposed by modern psychologists. The client passed the test with the obligatory presence of an expert who read out the questions and wrote down the answers. In addition, the psychologist also noted the general emotional state of the subject and recorded some of his behavioral manifestations.
Now the testing procedure is much simpler. The test subject is given a response form containing 21 groups of statements about the current state of health. In each group of such statements, the patient is invited to choose one that is most suitable for him. All questions are distributed by the degree of increase in the depressive symptom and are usually marked with numbers from 0 to 3. The test takes 20 minutes to complete the test, but in case of a serious condition of the person being examined, an increase in time is allowed.
Interpretation of Results
After the test is completed, scoring is carried out. In total, on the Beck scale, you can score from 0 to 62 points, while the smaller the final figure, the better the current state of the patient.
If the testing is carried out by a practicing psychologist, then, based on the results, he can assign corrective exercises to the client, the goal of which is to alleviate the depressive state. In severe cases, the patient is prescribed to take antidepressants or even hospitalization is strongly recommended.
The Beck Depression Scale, therefore, becomes an important diagnostic tool for a psychologist, which can be used throughout the course of therapy.