Display Patient Information Leaflets

Behavioural Activation (BA)

Date issued: June 2023

Review date: June 2025

Ref: C-529/EL/Clinical Psychology/Behavioural Activation (BA)

PDF:  Behavioural Activation (BA) final June 2023.pdf[pdf] 125KB

General overview of interventions

  • All CWP interventions are based on CBT. They usually last between 6-8 sessions and progress continues after the end of intervention, especially when new ideas and skills are practised at home

  • The sessions can be with your child and/or you, face to face or via video and/or telephone call

  • Attending regular sessions is important for change

What is Behavioural Activation (BA)?

  • BA aims to support children and young people experiencing low mood by focussing on changing unhelpful behaviours  

  • In this intervention, we encourage the young person to spend more of their time doing things that are important to them, allowing them to think and feel better

What we do together in sessions

BA is about making your life meaningful and pleasurable again, it involves these steps:

  • Learning about the vicious cycle of inactivity and understanding that we need to motivate ourselves to start feeling better

  • Monitoring our daily activities to understand the relationships between our activity and our mood

  • Identifying values, goals and what really matters to a young person

  • Carrying out meaningful activities to boost feelings of positivity and reward

How can you help at home?

  • As with all our interventions, it is really important that the young person practices the suggested techniques at home. As a caregiver, it would be great if you helped facilitate these tasks

  • For example, by providing gentle (but not pressured) reminders of the tasks that were agreed in session and practicing coping strategies when things are calm and settled. Making it a positive experience will motivate learning and support progress

  • Although we understand it can be very tempting, it is really important not to ‘rush’. Please try to stick to the agreed tasks made in the session. If your child then chooses to do more, that is fantastic!

  • Celebrate your young person’s attempts and successes, no matter how big or small! (It is ok if the task is not completed, it is more important to just give it a go)

  • Model the behaviours you would like to see, such as doing things that are valuable to you

  • Remember it is a journey for the young person and with you beside them, they can achieve great things!

Suggested self-help resources

  • Go to getselfhelp.co.uk to access free downloadable resources for depression

  • Search “The vicious cycle of low mood” on YouTube by East London NHS Foundation Trust

  • Search “Why are our thoughts often so negative?!” on YouTube by Your ACT Auntie

If you have any questions regarding this intervention or the CWP sessions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Wellbeing Practitioner!

Was this page helpful?

Was this page helpful?
Rating

Please answer the question below, this helps us to reduce the number of spam emails that we receive so that we can spend more time responding to genuine enquiries and feedback. Thank you.

Our site uses cookies to help give you a better experience. If you choose not to accept these cookies, our site will still work correctly but some content may not display. You can read our cookie policy here

Please choose a setting: