Behavioral Activation
A specific treatment for depression that is based on the idea that our mood and behaviors are tightly linked.
Behavioral Activation
What does a life worth living include?
Values, pleasure, and mastery
What does CBT stand for?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
What are worrisome thoughts called?
Ideas or reference
True or false: having worrisome or troubling thoughts is a common problem that people sometimes have when experiencing psychosis.
True.
Behavioral activation focuses on what area of the CBT triangle?
Behaviors!
What is pleasure? Provide an example.
Activities that are enjoyable
Examples: hobbies, games, spending time in nature, and so many more....!
What are the three points of the CBT triangle?
Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviors
What are the two types of worrisome thoughts?
1: People think that something or someone is referring to them or giving them a special message
2: People think that someone is out to give them a hard time or hurt them in some way
True or False: if a coping strategy didn't work once, it's not worth trying again
False.
It may take some practice for a coping strategy to work, and each situation is different and may have a different result. It is worth trying each skill a few times
True or false: Behavioral activation works best with activities that require a lot of effort
False.
The activities chosen for behavioral activation should be both easy and rewarding
What is mastery? Provide an example.
Involves activities, that involve the development of skills.
Example: sports, work, swimming, etc
True or false: You should wait for your symptoms to improve before practicing behavioral activation.
FALSE; The idea behind BA is to start now even if symptoms are present.
"There was an extra clicking sound on my phone when I picked it up to make a call. I think that only happens to me and that means my phone is being tapped" is an example of what form of worrisome thought?
People think that something or someone is referring to them or giving them a special message
List two strategies for coping with worrisome thoughts.
Shift attention to something else, question whether you thought might be psychosis, avoid coming to conclusions quickly, brainstorm other possible explanations, talk to someone you trust, directly check out you thought, use cognitive restructuring, talk to your doctor
What is a vicious cycle?
Something happens (stressful life events, triggers from past, etc)
You have feelings related to the event
You have a reaction to those feeling (What you do (or don’t do) also known as behaviors!
What activities would help you live by the value of prioritizing friends and family?
Have family dinners, hang out with friends, regularly call out of town friends/family, check in on how their lives are going, not using electronics when with them/being present with them, etc.
"All my teachers assigned big projects so I would fail" is an example of what type of worrisome thought?
Thinking that others are out to give you a hard time.
Challenge this worrisome thought: "My teacher all assigned big projects at the same time so that I would fail."
ex: "It's the end of the semester, so it's a logical time for big projects." or directly ask teacher about amount of projects assigned.
Name an example of a negative activity/coping skill that you could use Behavioral Activation to reduce, and a positive replacement activity.
Negative examples: staying up late, substance use, self harm, harm to others, biting nails, procrastinating, being on phone too much, over eating, under eating, poor nutrition, inactivity, isolating
Positive examples: setting a sleep schedule, eating well, go outside, go for a walk, listen to music, play an instrument, do a puzzle, spend time with friends, etc.
What are values? Do they change over time? Provide two examples!
What you find meaningful in life
The most important things to you
Yes, they change over time!
Examples: Family, physical health, trust, loyalty, and so on.....
If you took the role of the detective, what three questions could you ask about your worrisome thought?
1. What is the evidence supporting my thought? 2. What evidence does not support my thought? 3. What are other possible explanations?