User:Jybarra23/Concreteness training

 OUTLINE 

Expand on these main ideas:

-the repeated practice of cognitive skills to create habitual behaviors

-switching cognitive focus from negative thoughts to positive thoughts

-tendency towards unhelpful abstract thinking and negative thoughts

-viewing a single mistake as evidence that they are useless at everything

Better sentence flow needed:

-Who developed and why? -- to be better explained in the first paragraph

-Who is Professor Edward Watkins? -- more background on him, or develop a history section on this topic

-A sentence needed to introduce the study already cited in the article

 ORIGINAL ARTICLE CONTENT: 

Concreteness training (CNT) is the repeated practice of cognitive skills to create habitual behaviors, and involves switching cognitive focus from negative thoughts to positive thoughts. People suffering from depression have a tendency towards unhelpful abstract thinking and negative thoughts, such as viewing a single mistake as evidence that they are useless at everything. Authors of a study, which was conducted at the University of Exeter, developed this technique to help depression sufferers. Professor Edward Watkins of the University of Exeter notes: “This is the first demonstration that just targeting thinking style can be an effective means of tackling depression. Concreteness training can be delivered with minimal face-to-face contact with a therapist and training could be accessed online, through CDs or through smartphone apps. This has the advantage of making it a relatively cheap form of treatment.”

Twenty-one men and 39 women were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group received CNT, the second group received bogus concreteness training (BGT), and the third group was a wait-list control condition that received no treatment. Participants received the specific treatment every day for a week. At the end of the week, participants were again assessed for depression level and symptoms. Results indicated that CNT showed a trend toward a greater decrease in depressive symptoms than BGT or WL. The concreteness training involved practicing thinking about the specific details of recent mild negative events, how the event happened, where it happened, who was there, what they did, trying to get a mental picture of the event and its circumstances, and focusing on the sequence of how it happened.

 EDITED ARTICLE CONTENT:  (My changes and/or additions are italicized)

Concreteness training (CNT) is the repeated practice of cognitive skills to create habitual behaviors ''in order to help reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms for those suffering with the disorder of depression. People suffering from depression have a tendency towards unhelpful abstract thinking and negative thoughts, such as viewing a single mistake as evidence that they are useless at everything. As such, CNT involves switching cognitive focus from negative thoughts to positive thoughts so as to cut down on rumination—focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress—and self-criticism, which can cause feelings of inadequacy and raise anxiety.''

''This technique was developed at the University of Exeter, located in Exeter, England, by Professor Edward Watkins and his team of researchers after they conducted a study to see if the CNT approach could reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. In the study, twenty-one men and thirty-nine'' women were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group received CNT, the second group received bogus concreteness training (BGT), and the third group was a wait-list control condition (WL) that received no treatment. ''The concreteness training involved practicing thinking about the specific details of recent mild negative events: how the event happened, where it happened, who was there, and what they did. The goal was to try to get a mental picture of the event and its circumstances, and to focus on the sequence of how it happened.''

Participants received the specific treatment every day for a week based on their assigned group. At the end of the week, participants were again assessed for depression level and symptoms. Results indicated that CNT showed a trend toward a greater decrease in depressive symptoms than BGT or WL. Accordingly, Professor Watkins noted: “This is the first demonstration that just targeting thinking style can be an effective means of tackling depression. Concreteness training can be delivered with minimal face-to-face contact with a therapist and training could be accessed online, through CDs or through smartphone apps. This has the advantage of making it a relatively cheap form of treatment.”