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20 - Rumination-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

from Part Four - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2022

By
Edward R. Watkins
Edited by
Gillian Todd  and
Rhena Branch
Gillian Todd
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
Rhena Branch
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
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Summary

Rumination and worry are characteristic mental processes within depression and anxiety that have been found to contribute to the onset and maintenance of multiple disorders and to interfere with effective recovery. As such, they are important targets for treatment and prevention. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been adapted to specifically target rumination and worry, building on experimental research. This rumination-focused CBT has been proven to be efficacious in clinical trials. Rumination-focused CBT is based on the ideas that (1) rumination is a learnt habit and that effective treatment requires recognition of the triggers for the habit and either their removal/interruption or the learning of new adaptive responses to the triggers, based on repeated practice and if-then plans, and that (2) thinking over difficult situations is a normal response that can be helpful or unhelpful, and the therapy works with clients to shift them into a more helpful, concrete (How?) way of thinking rather than an unhelpful, abstract (Why?) way of thinking. The current chapter outlines the key principles, structure, and techniques within rumination-focused CBT including functional analysis, formulation, shifting thinking style, absorption, compassion, how to conduct assessments, how to select treatment components, and how to handle problems.

Keywords

ruminationworryhabitsbehavioral activationdepressionanxiety
Type
Chapter
Information
Evidence-Based Treatment for Anxiety Disorders and Depression
A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Compendium
 , pp. 402 - 417
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

Further Recommended Reading

Watkins, E. (2016). Rumination-focused cognitive behavior therapy for depression. Guilford Press.Google Scholar

References

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