Psych Vivas · Psychotherapy
Behavioural activation — structured clinical viva
Behavioural activation — structured clinical viva
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Target exams
FRANZCPMRCPsychABPNMD-DNB
Prompt
You are the psychiatry registrar in a mood clinic. A 38-year-old with major depression spends evenings in bed waiting for motivation and has declined a long CBT waitlist. The consultant asks you to: define BA and its model; demonstrate TRAP/TRAC with this case; outline session structure and early homework; contrast BA with CT and BATD; summarise Dimidjian, Dobson, COBRA, and synthesis evidence; and state when BA is not enough alone.
Opening (definition and model)
BA is a structured, collaborative psychotherapy that increases contact with response-contingent positive reinforcement and reduces avoidance that maintains depression.[8][14][15] Outside-in: do not wait for motivation. Ferster functional analysis plus Lewinsohn reinforcement loss is the theoretical backbone.[8][14]
References9ShowHide
- [1]Dimidjian S, Hollon SD, Dobson KS, et al. Randomized trial of behavioral activation, cognitive therapy, and antidepressant medication in the acute treatment of adults with major depression J Consult Clin Psychol, 2006.PMID 16881773
- [2]Dobson KS, Hollon SD, Dimidjian S, et al. Randomized trial of behavioral activation, cognitive therapy, and antidepressant medication in the prevention of relapse and recurrence in major depression J Consult Clin Psychol, 2008.PMID 18540740
- [3]Jacobson NS, Dobson KS, Truax PA, et al. A component analysis of cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression J Consult Clin Psychol, 1996.PMID 8871414
- [5]Richards DA, Ekers D, et al. Cost and Outcome of Behavioural Activation versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression (COBRA) Lancet, 2016.PMID 27461440
- [6]Ekers D, Webster L, et al. Behavioural activation for depression; an update of meta-analysis of effectiveness and sub group analysis PLoS One, 2014.PMID 24936656
- [8]Ferster CB A functional anlysis of depression Am Psychol, 1973.PMID 4753644
- [12]Uphoff E, Ekers D, et al. Behavioural activation therapy for depression in adults Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2020.PMID 32628293
- [14]Dimidjian S, Barrera M Jr, Martell C, et al. The origins and current status of behavioral activation treatments for depression Annu Rev Clin Psychol, 2011.PMID 21275642
- [15]Kanter JW, Manos RC, et al. What is behavioral activation? A review of the empirical literature Clin Psychol Rev, 2010.PMID 20677369