Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Enhanced Behavioral Activation for Depression: A Concurrent and Non-Concurrent Between-Participants Study

Functional analytic psychotherapy enhanced behavioral activation (FEBA) is a therapeutic approach that combines strategies from behavioral activation and functional analytic psychotherapy to improve therapeutic outcomes in clients who lack stable sources of reinforcement in their natural environments. In FEBA, therapists modify clients’ behaviors within the therapeutic session and simultaneously change clients’ environmental conditions in their natural contexts. A concurrent and nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design between participants was conducted. Four participants—2 men and 2 women—who reported depressive symptoms were independently treated in a psychological services center by 2 male therapists. FEBA increased the frequency of healthy behaviors (e.g., engaging in meaningful conversations with friends) in session and out of session. However, depressive behaviors in therapeutic and natural settings did not show stable changes. The implications for implementing some of the results of this study with clients with depression are discussed. Methodological recommendations for using FEBA with specific populations and in other contexts are also presented.