ABSTRACT
The goal of BA is to produce contact with diverse, stable sources of positive reinforcement and create a life with meaning and purpose. This constructivist goal is not antithetical to symptom reduction, as depressive symptoms should be reduced through increased contact with positive reinforcement. It is, however, in a paradoxical relationship with symptom reduction, as our theory holds that symptom reduction is best achieved through the willingness to experience the very symptoms one hopes to reduce, as one activates in increasingly dif®cult areas of life. Therefore the targets of BA are not symptoms to be reduced, but alternative behaviors to be activated. In this Point we discuss values assessment as a method for determining these alternate behaviors and guiding activation assignments.
