An Internet-Based Intervention for Depressive Symptoms: Preliminary Data on the Contribution of Behavioral Activation and Positive Psychotherapy Strategies

Abstract

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a well-known evidence-based therapy. However, interventions are multi-component, and we do not know the specific mechanisms responsible for the change produced by depression therapies. Therapeutic components of most interventions have focused on reducing negative symptoms rather than on improving positive affect, well-being, and character strengths. Positive Psychotherapeutic strategies (PPs) are designed to fill this gap. These PPs have shown efficacy in improving depressive symptoms. Nonetheless, we do not know the specific contribution of a PPs component. Internet-based interventions are effective in treating depression. Using a dismantling design, we are currently carrying out a randomized controlled trial with the objective of evaluating the efficacy of an Internet-based protocol for depressive symptoms (including Behavioral Activation and PPs), the protocol without the PPs component, and the protocol without the BA component. In the present paper, we present preliminary results of nine participants randomized to one of the three conditions, exploring the pre-treatment to post-treatment changes and presenting the qualitative data on the participants’ opinions of the BA and PPs. Participants in the intervention groups with the BA component presented greater improvements in their negative affect and depression; and participants in the PPs improved their positive affect and resilience. Regarding usefulness, the BA group pointed to the improvement in their relationships and to knowing that the activity is related to their mood, and the PPs learned about their psychological strength and saw the positive side of things more.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.