2017 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 105-114
The present case report describes the process of treatment that included both values work and behavioral activation. A female client with postpartum depression and subsequent major depressive disorder participated in 22 sixty-minute treatment sessions. Values work was conducted in session 2. After that, a behavioral activation approach was provided. The activation plan and homework assignments were decided according to the client's values which had been listed through values work. The results indicated that her Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score decreased from 29 to 13, her State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (STAI-T) score decreased from 58 to 38, and her Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) score increased from 19 to 30, which mean improvement of her depression, trait anxiety, and psychological flexibility, respectively. In addition, the frequency of a valued action, cooking, increased from 0.7 to 2.1 meals per day. These results suggest that a combination of values work and behavioral activation may have been effective for this client with postpartum depression.
