Introduction to Behavioural Activation for Depression

With an increased awareness and understanding of mental health, more and more people are seeking to learn about effective ways to improve depression or low mood.

This three-week course will introduce you to some of the key principles and practices of behavioural activation. You will explore how this approach has been shown to be successful in reducing levels of depression in a wide range of people in a wide variety of situations.

Behavioural activation is based on one key principle: that scheduling and completing meaningful, purposeful, and rewarding activities can lift our mood, energise us, and stimulate our interest and pleasure in day-to-day life. The approach is efficient, easy to learn, and works across different age ranges, depression severity levels, and cultures.

You’ll be able to relate the knowledge you will gain throughout the course to both your own life and to your interactions with others.

On this course, you will explore techniques associated with behavioural activation. These include learning to recognise the behavioural traps that perpetuate depression and how to build up the confidence and motivation to achieve goals aligned to personal values.

The University of York is a renowned institution in the study and application of behavioural activation as therapeutic intervention for depression. The senior developers of this course also have over 20 years’ experience in mental health services and education. By completing the course, you will gain knowledge and insights into how experts treat depression with behavioural activation.