Cognitive Therapy or Behavioral Activation for Major Depressive Disorder in Dutch Mental Health Care: Pilot Effectiveness and Process Trial

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the association between psychotherapeutic approaches and their processes in routine psychological practice. We compared cognitive therapy (CT) and behavioral activation (BA) on their effectiveness and change processes. Forty-three depressed patients participated in our trial. Scores on depression and specific and nonspecific factors were collected at seven time points and analyzed using RM-ANOVA and multiple linear regressions. No differences in depression reduction emerged between conditions. Most processes changed during therapy. Only measures of negative cognitions and behavioral activation interacted with treatment condition. Change on the processes did not predict symptom alleviation. Similarly, reductions in depression were not followed by change on any of the process measures. Both psychotherapeutic approaches led to significant and comparable symptom reduction. There was no clear evidence of differential change with respect to purported underlying mechanisms. The results are discussed in the context of therapy and research.

Ergen Davranışsal Aktivasyon Programının Uyarlanması ve Etkililiğinin Karma Yöntem ile İncelenmesi

“…In the experimental phase of the research, it was concluded that BA-based A-BAP administration effectively reduced depressive symptoms in adolescents. This conclusion coincides with the finding that BA-based interventions to reduce depression in adolescents show effective results in various cultures (Hopko et al 2003aDimidjian et al 2006, Cuijpers et al 2007, Chu et al 2009, Collado et al 2014, McCauley et al 2016, Nyström et al 2017, Bolinski et al 2018, Pass et al 2018b. While the effectiveness of BA-based interventions for adolescent and adult depression is known, it has recently been proven to be an effective model in Figure 3.…”

How Does Behavioural Activation Work? A Systematic Review of the Evidence on Potential Mediators

“…Depression is a common mental disorder and is associated with a substantial burden for patients and those around them [1-3]. Currently, pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and interpersonal therapy are the most frequently used evidence-based psychological treatments for depression, but research suggests that behavioural activation (BA) is equally effective [4-9] while it is less costly and complex than other psychotherapies [10, 11].…”