Carrying out positive actions would be an effective means of breaking out of the isolation that characterizes the Depression. A study by the University of Exeter (Great Britain) published in The Lancet promotes behavioral activation therapy (BA) for treating depressive symptoms. This little-known therapy is presented as a promising and inexpensive alternative to cognitive behavioral therapy (CCT).
Simple to implement, AC therapy encourages positive actions such as going for a bike ride, calling friends, going out, meeting new people, meditating… At the same time, the patient is encouraged stop negative behaviors like taking medication, drinking too much or watching TV all day.
This therapy in action differs from cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is based on management of emotions while working on thought and in particular how to deal with negative situations. David Richards, a profession at the National Institute for Health Research at the University of Exeter, is convinced that CA is a therapy of the future which deserves to be generalized in order to save money in healthcare costs. Above all, he ensures that this therapy is more profitable for the less fortunate patients because of its lower cost.
A reduction in symptoms of depression at a lower cost
His conclusion is supported by a demonstration made with 440 adults suffering from depression and divided into two groups. Some were treated with CBT and others with behavioral activation. A year after the start of the experiment, it turned out that the benefits of AC were not inferior to those of TTC. Two-thirds of participants in both groups showed a reduction in their depressive symptoms by half. CA, on the other hand, saved patients 20% compared to patients treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy.
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