ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on behavioral activation (BA) strategy in the cognitive behavioral treatment of depression. The traditional Beckian approach to BA involves two key steps: activity monitoring and activity scheduling. An important construct in the Beckian approach to behavioral activation is graded task assignment, defined as the process by which clients begin by implementing simple, relatively straightforward activities and then more toward scheduling activities that involve greater degrees of complexity and difficulty. The traditional approaches to activity monitoring and scheduling emphasized the recording of activities in every hour of the day, and as treatment progressed, the scheduling of activities in particular hours of the day. Like the traditional Beckian cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach, activity monitoring and scheduling are of central importance in contemporary behavioral activation (CBA). Cognitive behavioral therapists practice behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) work with their clients to clarify their values, which in turn will provide a framework for the activities in which they choose to engage.
