Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy for College Students with Depression Symptoms: A Case Study

摘要

University life can be perceived as challenging by many students. When students are unable to cope with challenges, it is very likely that they will experience stress. Unresolved stress conditions can impact college students' physical and psychological condition and affect their academic performance. In addition to stress, other psychological effects can arise if college students constantly perceive challenges as negative and unmanageable, especially if they experience a sense of helplessness and/or depression. Psychological interventions can be done to manage students' psychological problems while improving students' well-being and academic success. This study conducted brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat a 21 year-old college student who experienced depression symptoms. This intervention was chosen because the subject's negative thoughts were identified in conjunction with the depression symptoms. Because the subject also displayed a high level of motivation to overcome the problem, the brief CBT was expected to be effective. The intervention provided consisted of four sessions: one pre-assessment and three intervention sessions, and each session lasted around 120 minutes. After completing the intervention, the subject appeared to feel more capable of recognizing her negative thoughts and then changing them using more positive thoughts. At the beginning of the session, the subject looked depressed, but by the end, seemed more cheerful and exhibited lots of smiles. These research results were obtained from evaluating the subject's depression symptoms qualitatively and showing that brief CBT intervention can overcome a participant's depression symptoms and negative thoughts.