When mood is low, it’s natural to do less. You skip things, put things off, and stay in. Doing less can then keep mood low. Behavioral activation works from the outside in. You plan small, specific activities that matter to you, do them before you feel ready, and notice how they actually went.
Free. No account. What you write stays in your browser.
- MonWalk to the corner and back after dinnerIn the evening · Done
- TueText Sam and ask how the new job is goingAfter lunch · Partly
- WedClear the kitchen counterAnytime · Not this time
- ThuEat breakfast at the tableIn the morning · Done
- FriListen to one album, start to finishAt 7:30 PM
- Done
- 2
- Partly
- 1
- Not this time
- 1
- In your browserThe activity planner. Write what matters to you, build a list of activities, plan the week, and record how each plan went. It prints as a report for a therapist.
- On paperA weekly plan, what matters to me, my activities, when I notice I’m avoiding something, and a one-page handout, in English and Spanish.
- iPhone, iPad, and AndroidComing soon to the App Store and Google Play, with reminders you choose, a page for when you notice you’re avoiding something, and Patterns.
What it is
Behavioral activation is one of the most studied approaches for low mood and depression. It works on what you do. You choose small activities that matter to you, put them on specific days, do them whether or not you feel like it, and notice how they actually went. The research page explains where it comes from and what the studies have found.
Behavioral Activation is a free planner for that work, in English and Spanish. It describes and organizes. It doesn’t diagnose or treat depression or any other condition, and it never tells you whether you’ve improved. What you record is yours to read, or to bring to a therapist.
What’s in the planner
- Plan. Put small activities on specific days, each with a smaller version for harder days.
- How it went. Afterward, rate how much you enjoyed it and how much you felt you accomplished.
- What matters to me. If you want to, write what matters to you in a few areas of life and choose activities that fit.
- Looking back at the week. Each week, see what got done, what got in the way, and what your activities were for.
- Activity ideas. 40 ideas, grouped by area of life.
- Learn. Short reads on how behavioral activation works, a few minutes each.
Free to print
The behavioral activation handout
What behavioral activation is and how it works, on one page. Therapists can hand it to clients or a group. In English and Spanish.
Questions people ask
Does this treat depression?
No. Behavioral Activation is a planner and a set of short readings based on behavioral activation. It isn’t a treatment, a diagnosis, or medical care. If low mood has lasted more than two weeks, is getting worse, or makes it hard to work or take care of yourself, talk with a doctor or a mental health professional. When to get more help.
Do I need to feel motivated first?
No. When mood is low, that feeling may not come on its own. In behavioral activation, you plan small, specific activities and do them before the motivation arrives, since it often shows up after starting. Acting before you feel like it.
How is this different from Activity Record?
Activity Record is for noticing what you do each hour and how it feels. Behavioral Activation is for choosing what you’ll do, planning when, and seeing how it went. Some people use one without the other, and both are free.
Where does what I write go?
Nowhere. The planner saves in your own browser, on this device, and nothing is sent to us. Privacy.
Can I share it with my therapist?
Yes. The planner prints a report of the last 7 or 14 days, with your plans, how they went, what got in the way, and your ratings, in the same layout as the app’s report. You can print it or save it as a PDF. For therapists has more.
The app
Behavioral Activation for iPhone, iPad, and Android
Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play, free, with no accounts and no ads.
- Plan. Put small activities on specific days, each with a smaller version for harder days.
- How it went. Afterward, rate how much you enjoyed it and how much you felt you accomplished.
- What matters to me. If you want to, write what matters to you in a few areas of life and choose activities that fit.
- Looking back at the week. Each week, see what got done, what got in the way, and what your activities were for.
Also inside: short reads in Learn, a page for when you notice you’re avoiding something, reminders you choose, a Keeping it going plan, and a report you can share with a therapist.