Behavioral Activation For Depression

From leading experts in behavioral activation research and clinical practice, this volume presents an empirically tested approach for helping clients overcome depression by becoming active and engaged in their own lives. Behavioral activation is a stand-alone treatment whose principles can be integrated easily with other approaches that therapists already use. Guidelines are presented for identifying individualized treatment targets, monitoring and scheduling "antidepressant" activities -- experiences that are likely to be rewarding and pleasurable -- and decreasing avoidance and ruminative thinking. Rich clinical illustrations include an extended case example that runs throughout the book. Twenty-two reproducible forms, worksheets, and tables can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Behavioral activation theory indicates that much clinically relevant human behavior is a function of positive reinforcement, and that when positive reinforcement is reduced, lost, or chronically low depression results. Behavioral activation encourages clients to obtain and nurture the skills that allow them to establish and maintain contact with diverse, stable sources of positive reinforcement. This creates a life of meaning, value and purpose. Behavioral Activation: Distinctive Features clarifies the fundamental theoretical and practical features of behavioral activation, integrating various techniques into a unified whole that is efficient and effective. The book includes numerous case examples and transcribed segments from therapy sessions and outlines behavioral concepts using straightforward terms and examples so that all therapists can see the utility and practical value of this approach. This book will provide essential guidance for students and new therapists, as well as more experienced clinicians wanting to know more about what makes behavioral activation a distinct form of cognitive behavior therapy.

This step-by-step guide to Brief Behavioural Activation (Brief BA) provides everything practitioners need to use this approach with adolescents. It is suitable for new practitioners as well as those who are more experienced. Brief BA is a straightforward, structured and effective intervention for treating adolescents showing symptoms of depression, focusing on helping young people to recover through doing more of what matters to them. This practical manual contains guidance on how to deliver Brief BA at every stage, photocopiable activities and worksheets for the client and their parents, and a section on the research and theory behind the approach. It includes information and advice on how to assess adolescent depression, get to know the young person and their priorities better and help them to do more of what matters.

Provides self-activation techniques to help achieve a medication-free recovery from depression.

This book presents the first behavioral activation (BA) program to help 12- to 18-year-olds overcome depression. The authors provide a systematic framework for increasing adolescents' engagement in rewarding activities and decreasing avoidant behavior. User-friendly features include session-by-session guidelines and agendas, sample scripts, and instructional materials. Strategies are described for actively involving parents and tailoring BA to each teen's needs and developmental level. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book contains 35 reproducible handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety are increasingly common. Yet there are too few specialists to offer help to everyone, and negative attitudes to psychological problems and their treatment discourage people from seeking it. As a result, many people never receive help for these problems. The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions marks a turning point in the delivery of psychological treatments for people with depression and anxiety. Until recently, the only form of psychological intervention available for patients with depression and anxiety was traditional one-to-one 60 minute session therapy - usually with private practitioners for those patients who could afford it. Now Low Intensity CBT Interventions are starting to revolutionize mental health care by providing cost effective psychological therapies which can reach the vast numbers of people with depression and anxiety who did not previously have access to effective psychological treatment. The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions is the first book to provide a comprehensive guide to Low Intensity CBT interventions. It brings together researchers and clinicians from around the world who have led the way in developing evidence-based low intensity CBT treatments. It charts the plethora of new ways that evidence-based low intensity CBT can be delivered: for instance, guided self-help, groups, advice clinics, brief GP interventions, internet-based or book-based treatment and prevention programs, with supported provided by phone, email, internet, sms or face-to-face. These new treatments require new forms of service delivery, new ways of communicating, new forms of training and supervision, and the development of new workforces. They involve changing systems and routine practice, and adapting interventions to particular community contexts. The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions is a state-of-the-art handbook, providing low intensity practitioners, supervisors, managers commissioners of services and politicians with a practical, easy-to-read guide - indispensible reading for those who wish to understand and anticipate future directions in health service provision and to broaden access to cost-effective evidence-based psychological therapies.

This book represents one of the last contributions of Neil Jacobson to the study of depression. At the time of his death he, Christopher Martell, and Michael Addis had just begun writing. In fact, they had spent several years discussing behavioral approaches to treating depression and had been collaborating on one of the largest clinical trials for depression comparing behavioral activation to cognitive therapy and medication. Preliminary findings suggest that treating depression by helping to activate people (behavioral activation) is just as effective as helping them to change their thinking (cognitive therapy). Behavioral activation is a positive approach to treating depression. Within this framework, the therapist helps clients to see depression not as something inside of them but as a natural consequence of the way they cope with the shifting contexts of daily life. There is no search for mental illness, skill deficits or distortions in thinking. Rather, the therapist coaches the client to engage in activities that will lead to a more rewarding life. This book is arranged in three parts. Part I reviews theories of depression and various treatments for depression, particularly pharmacological treatments, cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Part II describes the behavioral activation treatment approach and provides ample case transcript material. Part III looks at problems that can arise in therapy and at future opportunities for the use of behavioral activation.

Noted for its clarity and practical utility, the definitive guide to behavioral activation (BA) is now in a revised and expanded second edition. The authors are leading experts who enumerate BA principles and provide guidelines for assessment and intervention. Clinicians learn effective procedures for structuring each session, identifying and scheduling antidepressant activities, targeting avoidance and rumination, and monitoring progress. Illustrated with an extended case example, sample dialogues, and quick-reference tables, the book features 16 reproducible worksheets and forms. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials--plus a supplemental client booklet--in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Reflects a decade of advances in research, clinical practice, and training. *Chapter on transdiagnostic applications and new treatment settings. *Four additional reproducible appendices: measures of BA client progress and therapist treatment fidelity. *Supplemental downloadable booklet: A Client's Guide to Behavioral Activation.