ABSTRACT
The schema construct is pivotal to the cognitive theory of depression because this deeper level of cognition purportedly impacts more surface-level cognitions. One of the measures that Keith Dobson and the author developed to study the organization or structure of the schema is called as the Psychological Distance Scaling Task. More than 75 clinical trials and numerous meta-analyses have been published on cognitive therapy (CT) for unipolar depression. Some studies also indicate that patients who receive CT alone are no more likely to relapse than are those who receive continuance medication. An intriguing illustration of this stems from a study conducted by Hollon et al. There are many ways to change depression and shift in cognition may be the final common pathway even though the mechanism might be different. It also seems probable that the shift in cognitive organization is not the necessary ingredient responsible for relapse prevention.
