Behavioral strategies

Depressed patients tend to exhibit specific behaviors which tend to enhance the depression. They usually exhibit poor social skills, engage in few pleasant activities, experience many negative events, and think in depressing and ruminative ways. Behavioral treatments attack these problems with a variety of strategies. These usually involve some form of self-monitoring of activities in order to make the patient more aware of the relationship between mood and activity. The treatments emphasize the importance of structured activity, helping the patient learn that he or she can get some control over the environment. Social skills training is important, as the depressed person's behavior tends to lead to social isolation, with an erosion of social skills and an increasing feeling of social inadequacy. Building a structured program so that the person can increase the number of rewards in life is also essential, as depression tends to result in reduced activity and, as a consequence, a lack of reinforcers. Treatment tends to be conducted weekly, with many programs lasting on the order of 12 to 20 sessions.

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