Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time: The New Behavioral Activation Approach to Getting Your Life Back

Each case of depression must be addressed on an individual basis. Self-help books can often be sufficient to address by themselves less serious cases of depression, or in tandem with therapists, more serious ones. This work is a very strong guide addresses a problematic environment-behavior relationship- an infrequent schedule of rewarding reinforcements- that has been shown to contribute to varying degrees to many or most cases of depression (please read the Wikipedia entry on Behavioral Activation for more info on this). Attention: this book is based upon solid (well-supported) clinical research and treatment development! Most self-help books are not. The psycho-education and exercises included in this one are quite straightforward and useful. As a therapist who has used this with some of my patients I have found it to be a well-written and highly useful adjunct to my efforts. Other potentially useful self-help guides for depression include Mind Over Mood, by Padesky and Greenberger (which includes behavioral activation, but not nearly as well as this one does); The Happiness Trap, by Russ Harris, which can be quite helpful (ACT therapy) but perhaps less accessible to someone in the throes of depression; and The Mindful Way Through Depression. All that being said, I would typically start with "Overcoming Depression" and see how it goes.

My Doctor used this book as a tool to help me better understand and help me work through my clinical longterm depression and generalized anxiety. It was a clear and easy step-by-step guide that helped make me more aware of the things I was doing to cause me to stay in this loop if depression. It is easy to follow and makes you aware if what you are doing that traps you and can cause you to continuously feel depressed and helps you to be more aware of the things you do that keep you trapped and how you can create new habits to prevent those bad habits that aren't helpful. Very helpful and educational. I use what I've learned to hopefully help others with their struggles.

Some good new ideas about improving mood and getting out of old patterns , particularly with regard to the concept of looking at avoidance as a non productive behavior. Potenially useful as a self help book.

For me, this workbook was a game-changer for my depression. I've been depressed ALL my life and now I'm middle aged. It didn't cure my depression...I still get depressed, but for shorter periods of time.When I got this book though, I barely got out of bed and had to stop working. I used avoidance in all areas of my life. I was majorly depressed and got on medications but, even more, I needed moment to moment help fast and this book spoke to me.My main takeaway from this workbook is to take positive action and THEN the good feelings, good thoughts or mood elevation will follow. Another is to try new things, new activities, new hobbies, new tactics, and see how they make me feel.No book is going to cure depression; you do have to do the work to change. I use therapy, meds, cbt/dbt, ACT, php, IOP, hospitalizations...and this workbook.Best of luck!

An excellent book on depression, from a much needed behavioral perspective. There are so many well-meaning cognitive books on depression, which unintentionally may be making the depression problem worse. Before becoming an Episcopal priest, I worked in the mental health field for 10 years, specializing in a behavioral approach. And so, I was glad to see this user-friendly guide. I bought and read it, and I found it excellent. The ideas are simple and immediately helpful. Highly recommended.

I had to write a review for this book to encourage others to give it a try. I have ordered other depression workbooks and for me this one is the most effective. Why? Because the steps you have to take aren't buried in a lot of fluff and filler, and they are very clear and actionable. It helped me to get out of my depressed state and I find myself going back to these techniques with success whenever I feel my mood starting to go down again. A definite keeper. I only wish it was available in a Kindle version, too!

A workbook (not especially well written) for and about overcoming depression by way of Behavioral Activation. This concept will annoy many "professionals" who believe that to overcome depression should involve taking medication and years of WORK (real therapy). For those who believe in a less complex way, this is it.

I bought this book at my therapist's suggestion and have found it to be quite handy over time. It employs cognitive behavioral therapy methods that work well for a lot of people, including myself. You follow lessons that include activities and homework, you stick to doing each lesson on a schedule (preferably predicated by a licensed therapist), you work thru the lessons systematically. This method works!

Written in plain English and well structured, it is easy to follow for anyone who is not in the deepest depressive state, and who wants to make changes to their lifestyle in order to tackle the multiple causes of their depression.

Stop-on, very helpful.There is no blaming the patient like, sadly, in a lot of wannabe behavioral workbooks.There is a lot of understanding, pertinent explanations and well-paced guidance.Easy to read, small chunks of easy to understand practical information and exercises.For those of you struggling at the moment, good luck and keep at it!

a easy book to understand and read. The book is well presented and user friendly. Its a book that will also help someone who wants to support a person who is depressed.

I really liked this book. I'm a clinician working with people with depression and the ideas expressed in this title were easily assimilated and applied in the clinical environment. Though this workbook is much more accessible than previous titles such as Mind Over Mood (Greenberger and Padesky) and Overcoming Depression (Chris Williams), my feeling is that it is a little 'text heavy' to be as accessible as it might be to clients seeking a pure self-help approach. However, that said, I think this is still probably the best place to start if you are depressed and looking for self-help material. This is much more accessible than the texts mentioned above. I would have liked to have seen the ideas distilled even further into less text and perhaps some more of the central ideas expressed in diagrammatic form.

helpful and a nice way to track your improvements