The behavioral activation for depression scale-short form: development and validation.

Following a landmark component analysis of cognitive therapy by Jacobson and colleagues (1996), there has been renewed interest in behavioral activation (BA) treatments for depression. The Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) was developed to measure when and how clients become activated over the course of BA treatment. Multiple studies have provided initial support for the BADS but have also identified several potential problems.

What is behavioral activation? A review of the empirical literature.

Behavioral Activation (BA) for depression is an empirically supported psychotherapy with a long history dating back to the 1970s. To date there have been no systematic reviews of how BA treatment packages and their accompanying components have evolved over the years. This review sought to identify and describe the specific treatment components of BA based on the descriptions of techniques provided in empirical articles on BA and referenced treatment manuals when available.

The impact of experiential avoidance and obsessive beliefs on obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a severe clinical sample.

The present study sought to replicate and extend a study by Abramowitz et al. (2009), who examined how well experiential avoidance (EA) and obsessive beliefs predicted obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in a non-clinical sample. The current study utilized a severe, clinical, treatment-seeking sample (N=108), and examined how well EA and obsessive beliefs predicted changes in OC symptoms from pre- to post-treatment.

A critical review of assessment strategies to measure the behavioral activation model of depression.

Behavioral activation (BA) treatments for depression are based on a model of psychopathology indicating that losses of, reductions in, or chronically low levels of positive reinforcement produce behavioral and emotional changes in depression. The corresponding mechanism theory is that using BA techniques to increase activation will lead to a subsequent increase in positive reinforcement, which will decrease depressive symptoms. We attempt to review BA literature relevant to its psychopathology and mechanism models, paying particular attention to attempts to measure activation as conceptualized within BA treatments and attempts to measure reinforcement.

Depression stigma in a predominantly low income African American sample with elevated depressive symptoms.

It is widely recognized that stigmatization of depression leads individuals with depression to avoid treatment and discontinue treatment prematurely. However, this research has been conducted with predominantly White samples and there is limited research on stigma of depression and how it relates to previous treatment seeking among African Americans. The current study examined stigma of depression and related constructs in a predominantly low income African American sample with elevated depressive symptoms.

Making behavioral activation more behavioral.

Behavioral Activation, an efficacious treatment for depression, presents a behavioral theory of depression--emphasizing the need for clients to contact positive reinforcement--and a set of therapeutic techniques--emphasizing provision of instructions rather than therapeutic provision of reinforcement. An integration of Behavioral Activation with another behavioral treatment, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy, addresses this mismatch. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy provides a process for the therapeutic provision of immediate and natural reinforcement.