If your collaborative formulation includes a component of low mood or low motivation, you may consider trying behavioral activation.
Behavioral activation (BA) operates on the concept that behavior can precede motivation or mood. A cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention, BA assumes that when someone feels bad, they can try to feel better by doing activities according to their values.
Values, simply put, are the things that matter to us or give our life meaning—within the BA context, values serve as a compass to identify and schedule meaningful activities.
For example, a person who values health might find stimulation and an improvement in mood by scheduling physical activity more regularly in their calendar.
In a BA method, the person could be invited to
- Schedule a physical activity;
- Rate their mood (from 1–10, with 10 being the best mood) before the physical activity;
- Perform the physical activity; and
- Rate their mood (again from 1–10) after the physical activity.
If the person was able to improve their mood by even just one point, then they would have successfully improved their well-being through BA and activity scheduling. The idea is to build on this example to empower the person.
In line with CBT’s fondness for experiments, not all activities will always lead to an improvement in mood, so each attempt can be considered a test to find out what works for the person.
Further reading:
- Lejuez, C. W., Hopko, D. R., Acierno, R., Daughters, S. B., & Pagoto, S. L. (2011). Ten year revision of the brief behavioral activation treatment for depression: revised treatment manual (BATD-R). Behavior Modification, 35(2), 111–161.
- Pass, L., Brisco, G., & Reynolds, S. (2015). Adapting brief behavioural activation (BA) for adolescent depression: A case example. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 8(e17), 1–13. doi:10.1017/S1754470X15000446
Niccolo Tiangco, MSc, EuroPsy, RPsy 