Assessing the effectiveness of behavioral activation therapy for depressive clients with drug treatment

Abstract

This study aims to test the surplus effects of behavioral activation therapy (BA) in people with mild to moderate depressive disorders taking antidepressant medication. Sixty participants were recruited from some psychiatric hospitals in Hanoi and randomly assigned to receive medication alone or medication with BA (in 18 weeks with 6-week intervention and 12-week follow-up). The outcome measures were (i) Patient Health Question (PHQ-9); (ii) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7); (iii) Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS); (iv) 12-Item ShortForm Health Survey (SF-12). The results indicated the surplus effectiveness of the BA intervention in decreasing anxiety and depressive symptoms and increasing the level of behavioral activation as well as the health status in these depressive clients. The study’s implication will be provided and discussed in this paper.