Bek Depression Scale: a description of the methodology and procedure for testing

The Beck Depression Scale is one of the most well-known tests to determine the severity of a depressive disorder. The technique is suitable for both adults and teenagers, and therefore is often used in the practice of a school psychologist. In addition, the scale of Beck depression can also be used for self-examination.

About the creator of the methodology

The method was developed by Aaron Beck, an American cognitive psychologist. As a child, Beck suffered a severe head injury, which caused the development of a serious disease. This pathology was accompanied by fears: Aaron was afraid to suffocate, remain alone, experienced great excitement before public speaking and constantly imagined that he would die from a head injury or intense bleeding.

The mother of the future psychologist was depressed after losing her eldest and only daughter - Beka's sister died during the flu epidemic in 1919. Perhaps the psychological state of the mother was one of the reasons why the scientist began to study neurotic disorders with interest . And it may very well be that the Depression scale of E. Beck was designed so that with its help other people could alleviate their suffering, similar to that of his mother.

Cognitive psychology about depression

Aaron Beck studied the dreams of depressed patients and compared them to stories about the dreams of healthy people. The scientist wanted to refute the psychoanalytic notion that neurotic patients have a certain "need to suffer", because of which their psychological state remains oppressed and depressed.

The results of the research surprised the scientist: the content of the dream of depressed patients and healthy people turned out to be similar. Beck conducted a series of practical tests, on the basis of which in the 50 years of the XX century put forward a new theory of depression.

According to the provisions of cognitive psychology, such frustration arises when a person's perception processes are significantly distorted. Neurotic patients suffer from fear of the future, and think of themselves only in a negative way. Such cognitive distortions arise because of a person's wrong perception of his life experience. Aaron Beck proposed a new model of psychological counseling aimed at eliminating such "wrong", disadaptive thoughts.

Depression scale of Beck. The essence of the methodology

Beck first published his scale of depression in 1961. The material for its development was the clinical cases of patients-volunteers, as well as data obtained by a psychologist during self-analysis.

Bek's scale is suitable for assessing depression in all its manifestations and, in addition, analyzing individual characteristic expressions of the disorder. In the test 21 questions, each of which implies a specific neurotic symptom. Based on the respondent's answers, one can form an opinion on the course of depression, the most characteristic manifestations of it, to predict the treatment, and also to evaluate the success of the therapy.

Also used is the Beck scale for self-evaluation of depression. The procedure for testing and processing received data is extremely simple, so anyone who wants to test himself can do it without much difficulty.

The testing procedure and instructions to the questionnaire

In the 60s of the last century, when the technique existed in its original form, the testing procedure was different from that offered by modern psychologists. The client passed the testing with the obligatory presence of an expert who read out the questions and wrote down the answers. In addition, the psychologist also noted the general emotional state of the subject and recorded some of his behavioral manifestations.

Now the testing procedure is much easier. The subject is given an answer sheet containing 21 groups of statements about his actual state of health. In each group of such statements, the patient is asked to choose one that is most suitable for him. All questions are distributed according to the degree of increase in the depressive symptom and are usually marked with numbers from 0 to 3. The test is given for 20 minutes to the subject, but in the case of a severe condition of the examined person, an increase in time is allowed.

Interpretation of results

After the test, the score is calculated. In total, on the Bek scale, you can score from 0 to 62 points, while the smaller the final figure, the better the actual state of the patient.

If the testing is conducted by a practicing psychologist, then based on the results of it, he can assign corrective sessions to the client, whose goal is to alleviate the depressive state. In severe cases, the patient is prescribed to take antidepressants or even highly recommended hospitalization.

The scale of depression Beck, thus, becomes an important diagnostic tool for a psychologist, which can be applied throughout the course of therapy.