Brief Behavioural Activation Treatment of Chronic Anxiety in an Older Adult

A 64-year-old male who met criteria for social and generalised anxiety was treated using a brief behavioural activation (BA) approach. The intervention was deliv-ered in twelve weekly 60-minute individual sessions. The effects of the interven-tion were assessed using a simple A-B-C phase change with repeated measurement design. Change in reported anxiety was recorded across phases. Decreased scores in self-reported anxiety measures were obtained and significant clinical improve-ment was maintained during a 4-month no treatment maintenance phase. This preliminary investigation suggests BA could be an efficient and effective treat-ment for anxiety and that replications are warranted. ■ Keywords: behavioural activation (BA), anxiety, elderly, single-case The behaviour-analytic study of psychopathology may be both valid and achievable when private events such as feeling anxious or depressed are examined from a func-tional perspective (Ferster, 1973; Friman, Hayes, & Wilson, 1998). For instance, the function of escape and avoidance behaviour has been emphasised within recent behavioural models of depression (Kanter, Cautilli, Busch, & Baruch, 2005). In thi