The Behavioral Activation Activity Diary is a worksheet designed to support activity planning.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective treatment for depression. Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment components, but all contain steps of activity monitoring and activity planning / scheduling. The Behavioral Activation Activity Planning Diary is a worksheet designed for activity scheduling within BA. This diary is in a 7-day format and includes sections for: recording planned activity in the morning / afternoon / evening; prompts to help clients to record the most helpful kinds of information.
Behavioral Activation (BA) is a well-supported treatment for depression, focusing on increasing activity levels to break cycles of inactivity and low mood.
Ideal for mental health professionals working with clients struggling with depression and low mood.
Help clients identify activities aligned with their values.
Encourage clients to plan activities, including details about what, where, and with whom.
Prompt clients to anticipate obstacles and prepare strategies to overcome them.
Discuss outcomes with clients to reinforce successes and plan future activities.
Learning theories propose that depression is the result of losing touch with sources of positive reinforcement: falling into habits of inactivity (or the wrong kinds of activity) lead to a lowering of mood. Once people feel depressed they may lack motivation, become less active, experience less positive reinforcement, and the cycle repeats or exacerbates. A behavioral approach to overcoming the vicious cycle of depression is to increase one’s level of activity even in the absence of feelings of motivation. This approach is called behavioral activation (BA) and there is strong evidence that it is an effective treatment for depression (Ekers et al, 2014), with equivalent effect sizes to treatments such as cognitive therapy (Jacobson et al, 1996). Modern approaches to BA include Martell, Addis & Jacobson’s package Depression in context: Strategies for guided action (2001), and Lejuez, Hopko & Hopko’s package Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment For Depression (BATD: 2001).
Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment components, but all contain steps of activity monitoring and activity scheduling (Kanter et al, 2010). The function of activity scheduling within BA is to increase contact with sources of positive reinforcement in the individual’s environment. While early forms of BA focused on scheduling pleasant events, other variants of BA have begun to use alternative criteria for choosing activation targets (Kanter et al, 2010): Beck et al (1979) recommended targeting behaviors which resulted in sense of mastery (accomplishment) as well as pleasant events; Martell et al (2001) encourages the scheduling of activities as alternatives to avoidance and rumination; and Lejuez et al (2001) encourage a focus on scheduling activities that are in line with a client’s values.
This Behavioral Activation Activity Planning Diary is a worksheet designed for activity scheduling within BA. This diary is in a 7-day format and includes sections for: recording planned activity in the morning / afternoon / evening; prompts to help clients to record the most helpful kinds of information.
