Comparison of Behavioral Activation Therapy and Treatment as Usual Among Depressed Patients in Secondary Psychiatric Care

Author(s):  
Kaisa Luoto
2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S532-S532
Author(s):  
K. Luoto ◽  
A. Koivukangas ◽  
A. Lassila ◽  
E. Leinonen ◽  
O. Kampman

IntroductionEvidence-based brief therapies are needed to reduce a marked heterogeneity affecting treatment of depression within the public psychiatric care. They should be easy to implement and use for a large group of patients.ObjectivesTo develop and implement an effective brief treatment protocol for depressed patients treated in public psychiatric secondary care.AimTo explore and compare the outcome of depressed patients receiving either behavioral activation therapy (BA) or treatment as usual (TAU).MethodsTwo hundred and forty two depressive patients referred to adult public secondary psychiatric care formed the BA treated study group. The TAU treated control group (n = 205) was collected from the hospital districts database and matched by the hospitalization rate, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). All patients received anti-depressive medications. In the study group, Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was conducted four times within 24 months follow-up. In both groups, the ability of functioning was controlled by Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF).ResultsIn the study group, depressive symptoms alleviated systematically and significantly during follow-up (Table 1). The improvement in GAF scores was significantly better in the study group throughout the follow-up (Table 1).ConclusionsBA can be implemented and used effectively for depressive patients in public psychiatric secondary care. BA is superior to TAU in terms of functional recovery.Table 11Mean change (decrease) in Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) compared to baseline.2Mean score in Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) during the given follow-up period.3Within study groups compared to baseline.4Between groups.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek R. Hopko ◽  
Sarah M.C. Robertson ◽  
John P. Carvalho

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxia Wang

Behavioral activation (BA) treatment has evolved from a component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and has become standalone psychotherapy for depression. The rapid increasing application of tele-mental health approaches such as telephone-, internet-, and smartphone-based interventions with BA were emphasized. With its efficacy comparable to traditional CBT, and its evidenced-based cost-effectiveness, BA is promising to be developed into a guided self-help intervention. The efficacy across diagnoses and effective components of BA treatment were reviewed. With the rise of the third wave of psychotherapy, therapeutic components across diagnoses will be incorporated into behavioral activation therapy. However, extensive studies are required to examine the neural and modulatory mechanism of BA for depression, and to explore the feasibility and necessity of tele-mental health BA application into the healthcare system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-202
Author(s):  
Alireza Karimpour-Vazifehkhorani ◽  
Abbas Bakhshipour Rudsari ◽  
Akram Rezvanizadeh ◽  
Leila Kehtary- Harzang ◽  
Kamyar Hasanzadeh

Introduction: Behavioral activation therapy (BAT) is designed to help individuals’ approach and access sources of positive reinforcement in their life, which can serve a natural antidepressant function and efforts to help depressed people reengage in their life through focused activation strategies. Methods: In this study, 60 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received behavioral activation treatment, including eight treatment sessions and 5 weeks later, a follow-up study was conducted. The data were collected, using a Beck Depression Inventory-II and behavioral activation system (BIS)/ behavioral inhibition system (BAS) Carver and White questionnaires, before the intervention and after the intervention and five weeks after the intervention. SPSS 23 and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for data analysis. Results: Results showed a significant increase in the two components of the BAS including reward seeking and response to reward in the intervention group, which indicates an increase in positive affect and appetitive motivation for reward seeking and decreases the risk of depression. Also, the results showed a significant decrease in the BIS and depression in the intervention group, which indicates a decline in experiencing negative emotions. Conclusion: The implementation of BAT will cause depressed people to try to maximize future rewards and it’s effective in improving the reward seeking and reward response in depressed people because this treatment will increase the positive reinforcement and lead to learning cues that predict possible rewards in environments.


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