Behavioral Activation Treatment For Depression Research Articles

Integration of the brief behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) into a college orientation program: depression and alcohol outcomes.

College freshmen face a variety of academic and social challenges as they adjust to college life that can place them at risk for a number of negative outcomes, including depression and alcohol-related problems. Orientation classes that focus on teaching incoming students how to better cope with college-oriented stress may provide an opportunity to prevent the development of these adjustment problems. This article outlines a program based on behavioral activation that can be integrated into college orientation programs to provide a more comprehensive orientation experience. Data are presented from an initial pilot study in which 71 first-semester freshman at the University of Maryland participated in a 15-week, 2 hr per week orientation class (n = 37 in the behavioral activation-enhanced orientation classes and n = 34 in the control orientation as usual classes). Students' depression and alcohol use were evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. Results indicated a Time × Group interaction such that problem drinking (but not consumption) was significantly reduced across assessments in the behavioral activation classes and largely unchanged in the standard classes. No difference was observed in depression scores; however, fairly low depression scores across the 3 time points may have limited the opportunity to observe any meaningful impact of the orientation classes on depression. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of their findings for preventing adjustment problems among incoming college students and future directions.

Effects of a Brief Behavioural Activation Treatment on Activities of Various Difficulty and Depression

AbstractThis study examined, first, effectiveness of a brief behavioural activation treatment for depression, in which participants engaged concurrently in activities of various difficulty instead of a standard least-to-most difficult sequence; and second, the relationship between behavioural self-observations of changes in activity levels and depressive symptomatology. Two adults with mild to moderate BDI-II depressive symptoms participated in a with-in participant multiple baseline study that contained 8 weekly conjoint sessions. Results showed that depression decreased to minimal levels at posttreatment and 1-month follow-up as a function of increases in activities of various difficulty. Results suggest early initiation of more difficult activities, and corroborate the relationship between increased activities and decreased depressive symptoms.

Activity Level, Activity Enjoyment, and Weather as Mediators of Physical Health Risks in Seasonal and Nonseasonal Depression

Research suggests that depression has negative consequences on physical health. One of the mechanisms driving this link may be the decrease in physical activity characteristic of individuals before and during a depressive episode. However, the factors that influence changes in physical activity across the seasons remain unclear. For instance, weather has been proposed to play an important role in the frequency of activities and enjoyment derived from them. In addition, research has not investigated how weather variables influence activity levels across the seasons in individuals with seasonal versus nonseasonal depression. The present study compared patterns of activity level and enjoyment in samples of women with seasonal and nonseasonal depression and controls. Women with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and MDD with a seasonal pattern (Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD) reported similar patterns of activity; engaging in less frequent activity and deriving less enjoyment from activities than controls across the entire year, most notably during the winter months. Women with SAD also reported being significantly impacted by the weather such that their mood and energy levels increased with warmer temperatures an increased sunshine. Results suggest that women with seasonal depression may be at similar health risks as women with nonseasonal depression and activity patterns may have implications for behavioral activation treatments for depression.

Behavioral Activation and CBT as an Intervention for Coexistent Major Depression and Social Phobia for a Biracial Client With Diabetes

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) frequently co-occur in individuals seeking treatment for either problem individually. Strong empirical support exists for the use of behavioral activation approaches for MDD and for cognitive-behavioral approaches for SAD, but these strategies may also work well when used concurrently to treat comorbid MDD and SAD. This study presents a biracial client seeking treatment for chronic MDD maintained in part by his symptoms associated with SAD, which also impacted service utilization in relation to diabetes. Behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) and cognitive-behavioral therapy for SAD were used integratively to simultaneously address MDD and SAD symptoms. Following nine sessions of treatment, the patient experienced dramatic changes in both anxiety and depression symptoms across all measures and successfully sought out and received medical treatment for his health problems. Data from this case study suggest an integrative approach for addressing co-occurring MDD and SAD symptoms.

Behavioral activation treatments for depression in adults: A meta-analysis and review.

Behavioral activation (BA) treatments for depression require patients to increase overt behavior to bring them in contact with reinforcing environmental contingencies. This meta-analysis sought to identify all randomized controlled studies of BA, determine the effect of this approach, and examine the differential effectiveness of variants. Thirty-four studies with 2,055 participants reporting symptoms of depression were included. The pooled effect size indicating the difference between BA and control conditions at posttest was 0.78. For participants who satisfied the criteria for major depressive disorder, the overall effect size of 0.74 remained large and significant. No differences in effectiveness between BA and cognitive therapy were found. BA may be considered a well-established and advantageous alternative to other treatments of depression.

Behavioral activation for moderately depressed university students: Randomized controlled trial.

Although depression is prevalent among university students, limited and dated research has examined theefficacy of behavioral interventions in treating this population (C. Lee, 2005). On the basis of a modifiedversion of the Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD; D. R. Hopko & C. W. Lejuez,2007; C. W. Lejuez, D. R. Hopko, & S. D. Hopko, 2001) that involved a structured single-sessionintervention and 2-week treatment interval, the authors conducted a randomized controlled trial com-paring individualized BATD and a no-treatment control for university students with moderate depressionsymptoms ( N 30). Outcome measures assessed depression, environmental reward, social support, andsomatic anxiety. Relative to the control group, repeated measures analyses of variance and reliablechange indices indicated that the BATD group had significantly greater reductions in depression andincreased environmental reward at post-treatment that were associated with strong effect sizes. Astatistical trend suggested that BATD also may show promise toward increasing social support. Givencurrent conditions in many academic institutions that include high demand for mental health services,limited personnel, and time restrictions, brief and parsimonious interventions like BATD may representa viable treatment option. Study limitations and future directions are discussed.Keywords: behavioral activation, college students, depression, treatment outcome

The Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression

In the present study, the Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) (Lejuez, Hopko & Hopko, 2001) was implemented to evaluate its effect on unipolar depression in eight adults. The preliminary results indicate that BATD was successful as there were statistically and clinically significant reductions in self-reported symptoms of depression and in general level of dysfunction. Furthermore, an improvement was found among the participants in overall quality of life. These initial positive results make future evaluations of the intervention interesting. Finally, the limits of the study and suggestions for further research directions are discussed.

Application of Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression to an Adolescent With a History of Child Maltreatment

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) is a promising new intervention that has received preliminary empirical support with adult samples. However, researchers have not yet examined the application of BATD to children and adolescents. The authors describe implementation of BATD with a 17-year-old girl in foster care who endorsed several symptoms of depression and reported a low rate of potentially reinforcing life events. Over the course of treatment, patient adherence to the BATD protocol was associated with an increased rate of reinforcing life events that coincided with decreased symptoms of depression. The authors discuss special considerations (e.g., parental involvement, supplemental activity selection methods) that are unique to the use of BATD with children and adolescents and offer recommendations for researchers and clinicians.

Behavioral activation for anxiety disorders.

Abstract Accumulating data suggest that behavioral activation interventions may be an effective approach to treating clinical depression. Given the high comorbidity and construct overlap between anxiety and mood disorders, a conceptually and methodologically integrated intervention that addresses symptoms of both conditions is indicated. As a means to this end, two questions are addressed. First, is the construct overlap and functional similarities of anxiety and mood disorders substantial enough to warrant an integrated intervention? Second, are behavioral activation treatments conceptually compatible with traditional behavioral interventions for anxiety disorders? To address these questions, behavioral activation interventions and their underlying principles briefly are described, followed by a functional analytic framework in which depressive and anxiety based symptom patterns are viewed as conceptually parallel in the context of a general negative affective syndrome. Finally, practical applications of behavioral activation for anxiety are discussed, and a case illustration is presented to highlight how behavioral activation may be used to treat a patient with coexistent anxiety and depressive pathology. Key Words: Behavioral Activation, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Disorders. ********** Behavioral activation may be defined as a therapeutic process that emphasizes structured attempts at engendering increases in overt behaviors that are likely to bring patients into contact with reinforcing environmental contingencies and produce corresponding improvements in thoughts, mood, and overall quality of life (Hopko, Lejuez, Ruggiero, & Eifert, 2003). Traditional behavior therapy for depressive disorders included an activation component whereby the objective was to increase access to pleasant events and positive reinforcers and simultaneously decrease the intensity and frequency of aversive events and consequences (Lewinsohn & Atwood, 1969; Lewinsohn & Graf, 1973; Zeiss, Lewinsohn, & Munoz, 1979). Empirical support for these interventions generally was favorable, with such approaches deemed as effective in attenuating depressive behaviors as cognitive and interpersonal skills training methods (Zeiss et al., 1979). Other researchers were less supportive of conventional behavior therapy, however, and it was demonstrated that mildly to moderately depressed college students did not become less depressed following participation in events and behaviors rated as highly pleasurable (Hammen & Glass, 1975). Given equivocal support for pure behavioral interventions, paradigmatic undercurrents associated with the cognitive revolution, and the contention that more multi-faceted interventions that included cognitive restructuring rendered superior outcomes to pure behavioral approaches (Blaney, 1981; McLean & Hakstian, 1979), these pioneering behavioral therapies for depression gradually were replaced by more integrative cognitive-behavioral therapies (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Lewinsohn, Antonuccio, Breckenridge, & Teri, 1984; Lewinsohn, Munoz, Youngren, & Zeiss, 1986; Lewinsohn, Sullivan, & Grosscup, 1980; Rehm, 1977). Following the publication of a component analysis study indicating that comprehensive cognitive-behavioral therapy was no more effective than a behavioral intervention in treating depression, interest in pure behavioral approaches was revitalized (Gortner, Gollan, Dobson, & Jacobson, 1998; Jacobson et al., 1996). Subsequent to this study, substantial preliminary data have accumulated that support the utility of two new interventions: Behavioral Activation (BA; Addis & Martell, 2004; Martell, Addis, & Jacobson, 2001) and the Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD; Lejuez, Hopko, & Hopko, 2001, 2002). These approaches have been effectively used with depressed patients in a community mental health center (Lejuez, Hopko, LePage, Hopko, & McNeil, 2001), an inpatient psychiatric facility (Hopko, Lejuez, LePage, Hopko, & McNeil, 2003), as a supplemental intervention for patients with co-existent Axis I (Hopko, Hopko, & Lejuez, 2004; Jakupak et al. …

Behavior Therapy for Depressed Cancer Patients in Primary Care.

Major depression is a common psychiatric disorder among cancer patients and is associated with psychosocial impairment and decreased quality of life. Although some research has explored psychological interventions with cancer patients, outcome studies investigating the benefits of behavior therapy among cancer patients with well diagnosed depression are nonexistent. The present study was a preliminary clinical trial (n 6) used to assess the effectiveness of a Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) among depressed cancer patients in primary care. Results revealed strong treatment integrity, good patient compliance, excellent patient satisfaction with the BATD protocol, and significant pre‐post treatment gains across measures assessing depression, quality of life, and medical outcomes. These gains were associated with strong effect sizes and were maintained at 3-month follow up. BATD may represent a practical primary care treatment that may remedy problems associated with traditional psychosocial interventions. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Behavioral Activation as an Intervention for Coexistent Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms

In recent years, behavioral activation approaches have been used to treat individuals with clinical depression. Extension of these strategies toward individuals presenting with coexistent depressive and anxiety symptoms may represent a parsimonious, practical, and time-and cost-effective treatment method. The present study outlines a case in which coexistent anxiety and depressive symptoms predominate, a clinical presentation made somewhat more complex given an Axis III diagnosis of colitis. A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) is used to simultaneously incorporate activation and exposure strategies to ameliorate affective symptoms. Following a 10-session treatment protocol, the patient demonstrated notable decreases in self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms and increased quality of life. Although these data are preliminary, they suggest some efficacy for BATD as a viable treatment alternative for individuals with a mixed anxiety-depressive disorder presentation.

Contemporary behavioral activation treatments for depression: Procedures, principles, and progress

In the past decade, there has been renewed interest in the feasibility and efficacy of purely behavioral treatments for clinical depression. Emphasizing the functional aspects of depressive and nondepressive behavior, these treatments focus on the concept of behavioral activation, which guides implementation of procedures aimed at increasing patient activity and access to reinforcement. Although researchers have provided positive preliminary support for behavioral activation-based interventions, many fundamental issues concerning strategies, principles, and change processes involved in behavioral activation have yet to be addressed. In this paper, we compare and contrast contemporary behavioral activation interventions, explore strategies and process of change issues, clarify the basic behavioral principles underlying activation strategies, and outline questions that need to be addressed to improve outcomes and better understand the potential significance of behavioral activation as it pertains to the future of behavior therapy for depression.

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression: Returning to Contextual Roots

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression: Returning to Contextual Roots

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression: A Commentary

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression: A Commentary

A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression. Treatment manual.

The brief behavioral activation treatment for depression is a simple, cost-effective method for treating depression. Based on basic behavioral theory and recent evidence that the behavioral component may be the active mechanism of change in cognitive-behavioral treatments of clinical depression, the authors designed a treatment to systematically increase exposure to positive activities, and thereby improve affect and corresponding cognitions. This article describes the rationale for the treatment and provides the treatment in manual form to be utilized by patients in therapy.

A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression

A time-limited behavioral treatment of depression is described, based upon the matching law, targeting both environmental factors maintaining depressive behaviors and factors limiting the occurrence of more healthy behaviors. This treatment is designed to reduce depression by way of a gradual increase in desired, healthy activity. Three case studies using this intervention are provided, with marked improvement evidenced in each case. Although considerably more work is necessary to establish the clinical utility of this treatment, it appears to be a parsimonious and useful approach that may help to shed light on the active ingredients of the successful treatment of depression.

Continuing education quiz: A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression (lejuez et al., pp. 164–175)

Continuing education quiz: A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression (lejuez et al., pp. 164–175)

Behavioral activation treatment for depression: Returning to contextual roots.

Behavioral activation (BA), as a stand-alone treatment for depression, began as a behavior therapy treatment condition in a component analysis study of the Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery version of cognitive therapy. BA attempts to help depressed people reengage in their lives through focused activation strategies. These strategies counter patterns of avoidance, withdrawal, and inactivity that may exacerbate depressive episodes by generating additional secondary problems in individuals' lives. BA is designed to help individuals approach and access sources of positive reinforcement in their lives, which can serve a natural antidepressant function. Our purpose in this article is to describe BA and the history of its development.

Behavioral activation treatment for depression: A commentary.

Over the last two decades, cognitive therapy has largely eclipsed more purely behavioral interventions in the treatment of depression. Although cognitive behavior therapy has fared well in controlled clinical trials, behavior therapy has tended to languish, despite doing well in earlier trials. Jacobson and colleagues describe an approach to behavioral activation that is likely to reinvigorate interest in more purely behavioral interventions. This approach is based on a contextual analysis of the external events that trigger distress and the consequences that follow what are often ineffectual efforts to cope. Recent studies suggest that the approach may both be effective and easy to disseminate to applied clinical settings.

Cigarette smoking and bladder cancer: an epidemiological inquiry in West Yorkshire.

Results are given of a case-control study on bladder cancer in West Yorkshire. The aim of the study was to assess what risks exist for cigarette smoking in the United Kingdom and also to investigate if a dose response effect was present. The study shows for the first time in the United Kingdom a positive but weak relationship between cigarette smoking and bladder cancer. Close examination of the data with regard to this effect shows that a complex set of relationships result when the quantity smoked and the period of smoking are taken into account. A dose response effect is weakly demonstrated when a medium quantity of cigarettes are smoked but it is not present at all in those who smoked most cigarettes for the longest periods. No risk appears to exist for those who have smoked only filter cigarettes. The results are contrasted with similar studies and the significance of the observations are discussed.