How effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in treating mental health patients with depression?

Assignment Brief

This paper deals mainly with the domain of nursing in which you are required to carry out a research carrying proper structure and literature. Moreover, provide real life evidence related with your experience within the field. You have to focus on the following features:

• The effect of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the treatment of patients of depression
• The impact of nurses’ culture on the communication with patients with mental illness
• The significance of work and the aftermaths of unemployment on an individual’s mental growth
• The impact of dwelling in a stressful environment on an individual’s mental health

Instructions 

Questions

1. How effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in treating mental health patients with depression?
2. How does nurses’ culture impact on their interaction with patients in mental health care? 
3. The benefits of work: How does unemployment affect an individual’s mental health? 
4. Living in a stressful environment: How does stress affect an individual’s mental health?

NOTE

(I am choosing the first question).

Assignment guidelines – Introduction to Evidence based practice

A 3,000-word written assignment

Select a research question relating to your field of nursing from the list on Moodle. Conduct a literature search using the skills developed during the module. Explain and reflect on the literature searching process and include a table of the search terms used. Choose 5-6 articles related to the question from the search and describe them, comment on why you chose them, their findings and their relevance to your nursing practice.

Introduction (approx. 300-400 words)

• Introduce the assignment and outline clearly what you aim to do.
• Tell the reader what will be included in the assignment and in what order.
• Introduce, define and discuss the importance of evidence based practice in relation to your field of nursing including the use and definition of evidence based practice models

Search (approx. 800 words)

• Introduce your search terms.
• Outline how you performed your literature search i.e. what databases you used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, any other filters used and provide rationale for these decisions with references.
• Outline how you identified your key articles. Include enough detail so that your search could be conducted by the person reading it. Include a copy of your search in the appendices

Discussion (approx. 1000 -1200 words)

Give an overview of the key articles in detail.

Conclusions (approx. 200-300 words)

• This should summarise how you conducted the literature search and the results that you found as well as the key points from your articles.
• Revisit the original research question to ensure this has been answered.

Implications for practice (approx. 200-300 words)

• Outline the implications for your practice as a nurse. What has the evidence added to your knowledge base?
• What further information would you like to know?
• How does the process of searching for the evidence inform your practice?
• Were there gaps in the evidence?

References

Reference the assignment throughout.

Sample Answer

How Effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Treating Mental Health Patients with Depression

Introduction

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems worldwide, affecting millions of people each year. It can severely reduce quality of life, limit social functioning, and increase risks of self-harm or suicide. For nurses working in mental health care, understanding effective treatments is essential to providing safe, evidence-based care. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has become one of the most widely used psychological therapies for depression. It focuses on identifying and changing negative patterns of thought and behaviour, thereby helping individuals develop healthier coping strategies.

The aim of this assignment is to examine how effective CBT is in treating depression by reviewing key evidence. I will begin by outlining what evidence-based practice means in nursing and why it is important. Following this, I will describe how I carried out a literature search to identify relevant research on CBT and depression, including search terms, databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the rationale for these choices.

The discussion section will analyse 5–6 selected articles in detail, summarising their findings and considering their relevance for nursing practice. I will explore both the strengths and limitations of the evidence, while reflecting on what it means for nurses supporting patients with depression.

The assignment will end with a conclusion that summarises the main findings, followed by an outline of the implications for nursing practice, including how evidence about CBT can shape approaches to patient care and where gaps in the research remain.

Evidence-based practice is important in nursing because it ensures that patient care is informed by the best available knowledge rather than personal opinion or tradition. It involves integrating clinical expertise with research evidence and patient preferences to make decisions that lead to better outcomes. Models such as Sackett’s model of evidence-based practice emphasise the importance of critically appraising research and applying it in real-world clinical settings. By using this structured approach, nurses can provide effective care that is consistent, safe, and beneficial for patients.

Literature Search 

To answer the research question, “How effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in treating mental health patients with depression?”, I carried out a structured literature search. The aim was to find peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last 10–15 years that evaluated CBT in the treatment of depression.

Databases Used

• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) – chosen because it contains a large number of nursing and mental health articles.

• PsycINFO – useful for psychological and psychiatric research.

• PubMed/Medline – a reliable source of medical and clinical research.

• Google Scholar – used to identify additional articles and grey literature.

Search Terms

I combined keywords and Boolean operators to refine the search. Examples include:

• “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy” OR “CBT”

• “Depression” OR “Major Depressive Disorder”

• “Effectiveness” OR “Treatment outcomes”

• “Mental health patients”

Search string example: (“Cognitive Behavioural Therapy” OR CBT) AND (Depression OR “Major Depressive Disorder”) AND (effectiveness OR “treatment outcome”).

Inclusion Criteria

• Articles published between 2010–2024.

• Peer-reviewed journals.

• Studies focusing on adults with depression.

• Articles written in English.

• Research that evaluated the effectiveness of CBT.

Exclusion Criteria

• Studies focusing on children or adolescents only.

• Articles not peer-reviewed.

• Studies on therapies other than CBT.

• Non-English articles.

Rationale

The inclusion criteria ensured the evidence was current, relevant, and of high quality. Excluding studies on children and adolescents helped to keep the focus on adult patients, which aligns more closely with my nursing practice.

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