The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for mental health interventions that can be easily disseminated during a crisis. Behavioural activation (BA) is a cost-effective treatment that can be administered by non-specialists; however, it is unclear whether it is still effective during a time of lockdown and social distancing, when opportunities for positive activity are significantly constrained.

Between May and October 2020, we randomised 68 UK participants with mild to moderate low mood to either a 4-week online programme of non-specialist administered BA or to a passive control group. Before and after the intervention, we collected self-report data on mood and COVID-related disruption, as well as measuring emotional cognition as an objective marker of risk for depression.

In comparison to the control group, the BA group showed a significant decrease in depression, anxiety and anhedonia after the intervention, as well as an increase in self-reported activation and social support. Benefits persisted at 1-month follow-up. BA also decreased negative affective bias on several measures of the Facial Emotion Recognition Task and early change in bias was associated with later therapeutic gain. Participants rated the intervention as highly acceptable.

This study highlights the benefits of online BA that can be administered by non-specialists after brief training. These findings can help inform the policy response towards the rising incidence of mental health problems during a crisis situation such as a pandemic. They also highlight the use of objective cognitive markers of risk across different treatment modalities.