Applying Cognitive Therapy for Depression and Anxiety in Mathematics Education for Students’ Sustainable Performance

Abstract

Globally , cases of depression and anxiety have been on the increase among the adolescents. Depression and anxiety interfere significantly on students’ academic achievement in schools at all levels. It is more intensed on mathematics learning, reason being that Mathematics as a school subject involves critical thinking, which essentially has to do with the mind-(cognition). It is suffice to say that timely applications of cognitive therapy interventions as preventive measures could ameliorate the incessant of occurrence of depression and mathematics anxiety among students. Therefore, this paper focuses on applying cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety towards enhancing students’ sustainable performance in the subject. The paper examines mathematics anxiety, depression, common causes of depression, types of depression, cognitive therapy, basis of cognitive therapy, classroom interventions and treatment techniques, school curriculum configuration repackaging among others. The paper observes that immediate and appropriate classroom interventions would go a long way to restore affected students before it degenerates to complex condition. In this paper, it is noted that chronic depression and mathematics anxiety could significantly impair students’ optimal learning. It is therefore recommended that mathematics teachers should be equipped with appropriate classroom interventions, treatment and techniques that could be employed via cognitive therapy to alleviate or minimize the effect of depression and mathematics anxiety among students for sustainable performance.