The Behavioral Activation Workbook for Depression
Powerful Strategies to Boost Your Mood and Build a Better Life
NINA JOSEFOWITZ, PHD & STEPHEN R. SWALLOW, PHD
Published by New Harbinger
Available in Paperback & Ebook
The Behavioral Activation Workbook for Depression can be used as a self-help workbook if you or someone you care about is depressed. If you are a therapist and want to incorporate behavioral activation into your practice, it can also serve as a guide for therapy.
Is this book for you or someone you care about?
Do you wonder if you are depressed? Do you often feel sad or hopeless? Are you overwhelmed by seemingly small things, or feel exhausted all the time? Do you have difficulty concentrating? Have you lost interest in activities you normally enjoy? If so, you may be suffering from depression. You aren’t alone; lots of people are depressed. Using behavioral activation, a type of CBT therapy, I want to help you find your way out of your depression.
Behavioral activation is based on a very common-sense idea. When you are depressed, you don't feel like doing anything and you start withdrawing from life. Nothing is enjoyable and you just want to stay home. However, and this is key, stop and ask yourself if withdrawing from life helps you feel better. Studies show that when you stay home, avoid seeing friends and family, or generally withdraw from life, you might feel better immediately but in the long term, your depression gets worse. Depression is a vicious cycle: Depression makes you want to withdraw from life and withdrawing from life leads to feeling more depressed.
This workbook will teach you how to break the vicious cycle of depression. You will learn effective and practical strategies to increase your motivation, overcome your negative thoughts and low moods, and create your own depression-resistant life. I will show you how to use simple worksheets and exercises to develop mood-boosting activity plans and then teach you how to stick with them! You will learn to focus on values that are important to you and how to use these values to combat your depression and build a good life. Finally, you’ll learn to boost your positive feelings and find hope using tools from mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.
Hundreds of studies have found that behavioral activation is a powerful, effective treatment for depression. It doesn't matter if your depression is recent or if you have been depressed for a long time. The evidence says that there is a good chance behavioral activation can help you overcome your depression and start enjoying life.
Are you a therapist who has wanted to incorporate Behavioral Activation into your practice?
While this is a workbook, it can also be used in the context of therapy.
If you have heard about behavioral activation but are not sure how to use it, this book offers a comprehensive guide. You can work through each chapter with your clients.
If you already are a CBT therapist, this book will help you ensure that you are offering behavioral activation effectively, using the most up-to-date therapy interventions.