Depression Prevention

Did you know that depression is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide? Nineteen million Americans experience depression each year. The Depression Prevention Program is designed for people who may be experiencing symptoms of depression, to help them improve their mood and sense of well-being and to prevent symptoms from becoming worse.

By using this program, participants will learn how people change, how ready they are to manage their depression, and specific skills which will help prepare them to make changes related to:

1. Controlling negative thinking
2. Engaging in healthy, pleasant activities regularly
3. Practicing stress management
4. Exercising regularly
5. Getting professional help when needed

Online Program

View sample screens

Printed Manual

A Guide for Depression Prevention

A stage-based manual to help adults prevent or manage depression. Part of the off-line program or available separately.

View sample pages

For ordering information, see our manuals order page.

Effectiveness

Our clinical effectiveness trial¹ of the Depression Prevention program included 902 adults at risk for depression recruited from primary care waiting rooms and by telephone. The treatment group received a stages of change manual and an individualized printed report in the mail, and additional individualized reports at one and three months follow-up.

Effect: At nine months, treatment group participants who were not initially managing their depression were significantly more likely than control group participants to:

• Experience a significant reduction in depression (34% vs. 18%, respectively)
• Be managing their depression prevention (69% vs. 57% respectively)
• Be taking antidepressant medication if prescribed (66% vs. 49%)

Among study participants who were managing their depression, the intervention prevented the onset of depression (12% of treatment participants vs. 20% of control participants experienced a new episode of Major Depression during the follow-up period).

Scientific program description:

The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change Depression Prevention Program is designed for individuals who screen positive for depression symptoms and are not currently involved in counseling. The aim of the program is to increase the use of effective methods for reducing and preventing depression symptoms, including controlling negative thinking, engaging in healthy, pleasant activities, practicing stress management, exercising, and getting professional help when needed. The program, administered at 0, 1, and 3 months, assesses and gives feedback on: 1) level of depression; 2) use of effective methods for reducing and preventing depression; and 3) stage of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and stage-matched processes of change. The 1- and 3-month feedback lets users know how they’ve changed on all dimensions over time. The companion manual provides definitions of the stages of change and stage-matched information and exercises, teaches users how to recognize and monitor symptoms of depression, describes different types of treatment for depression, and teaches traditional self-help techniques. Developed with support from Small Business Innovation Research grant R44 MH60522 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Results Published

^1.Levesque, D.A. (2007). An Expert System to Reduce Depression in Primary Care. Final Report to NIMH Grant No. R44 MH60522.

Levesque, D.A., Van Marter, D.F., Schneider, J.J., Bauer, M.R., Goldberg, D.N., Prochaska, J.O., and Prochaska, J.M. (under review). Randomized trial of a transtheoretical model intervention for depression in primary care.