1 Research Article Critique Emma Brooks Department of Social Sciences, St. Edwards University CNCO 6352: Counseling Theories Dr. Jones-Trebatoski October 24, 2021 2 Research Article Critique The researchers in this project were trying to see if you who are experiencing comorbid depression could benefit from anxiety treatments, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy. To test this the gathered two test groups. One of the groups were filled with anxious children who have comorbid depression, and the other group was made up of anxious children without comorbid depression. Both of the groups went through 16 weeks of Coping Cat, a cognitive behavioral therapy program. In the end the results showed that the children with comorbid depression did have more symptom improvement than the children without it. However, the children with comorbid depression had a higher baseline severity than the children without comorbid depression, so the study concluded that while CBT can be used to help, it would also be beneficial for children with comorbid depression to have other treatments as well, to further decrease symptoms. I think this article is useful in showing that CBT can be an effective method to treat different disorders, even something like depression. Many people think of CBT as something to treat behavioral disorders, but it can be used beyond that. The researchers used Coping Cat which has four key goals. The first goal is recognizing and understanding emotional and physical reactions to anxiety. The second goal is to clarify thoughts and feelings in anxious situations. The third goal is to develop plans for effective coping and the last goal is to evaluate performance and give self-reinforcement. Coping Cat is not something I had heard of before reading this article, but I think it can be a great tool for people struggling with anxiety. I definitely want to include cognitive behavioral use in my therapy style, especially for patients with crippling anxiety and depression. This study proved that it can be a great tool for people struggling with these things. It definitely should not be the only tool used, given the 3 children still had symptoms after 16 weeks in this therapy, but it did prove effective still. I also want to include the idea of an eclectic therapy approach. The researchers saw that it would be most effective if CBT is used alongside another therapy theory in order to best treat the children. I think that this is something I want to take into my practice as well. Instead of strictly following one theory, I think it can be more beneficial to incorporate multiple theories and ideas, so that clients are receiving an eclectic approach and do not have to be constricted to one theory. References Frank, H. E., Titone, M. K., Kagan, E. R., Alloy, L. B., & Kendall, P. C. (2021). The Role of Comorbid Depression in Youth Anxiety Treatment Outcomes. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 52(6), 1024–1031. https://doiorg.ezproxy.stedwards.edu/10.1007/s10578-020-01081-7
