Cited by 217Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsDigital Mental Health Interventions

Behavioural activation delivered by the non-specialist: phase II randomised controlled trial

Open access
Ekers, David, Richards, David, McMillan, Dean, Bland, J. Martin, Gilbody, Simon·2011·British Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

Background: Behavioural activation appears as effective as cognitive– behaviour therapy (CBT) in the treatment of depression. If equally effective, then behavioural activation may be the preferred treatment option because it may be suitable for delivery by therapists with less training. This is the first randomised controlled trial to look at this possibility. Aims: To examine whether generic mental health workers can deliver effective behavioural activation as a step-three high-intensity intervention. Method: A randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN27045243) comparing behavioural activation (n = 24) with treatment as usual (n = 23) in primary care. Results: Intention-to-treat analyses indicated a difference in favour of behavioural activation of –15.79 (95% CI –24.55 to –7.02) on the Beck Depression Inventory–II and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (mean difference –11.12, 95% CI –17.53 to –4.70). Conclusions: Effective behavioural activation appears suitable for delivery by generic mental health professionals without previous experience as therapists. Large-scale trial comparisons with an active comparator (CBT) are needed.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1192/bjp.bp.110.079111

Cites

33 of 33 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [10]10. Ekers D, Richards D, Gilbody S. A meta analysis of behavioural therapy for depression. Psychol Med 2008; 38: 611-23.
  2. [21]21. Lipsey M, Wilson D. The efficacy of psychological, educational and behavioural treatment. Am Psychol 1993; 48: 1181-209.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ekers, D., Richards, D., McMillan, D., Bland, J. M., & Gilbody, S.
Affiliations
  • Durham University (GB)
  • University of Exeter (GB)
  • University of York (GB)
Corresponding author
Ekers, David
Venue
British Journal of Psychiatry
Published
2011-01
Volume
198
Issue
1
Pages
66-72
ISSN
  • 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
  • 1472-1465
OpenAlex
W2146200755
Cited by
217
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 12
FWCI
21.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion)
  • Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
behavioral activation, depression, primary care, usual care
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Behavior Therapy, Clinical Competence, Community Mental Health Services, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Education, Continuing, Family Practice, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Treatment Outcome, Young Adult, Intention to Treat Analysis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review