Online Behavioral Activation (BA) therapy from just $35/session with licensed therapists (PhD, PsyD, LCSW, LMHC, LMFT) trained in this action-based approach. At Grouport, we offer online individual therapy, online group therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, teen therapy, and virtual IOP options. Behavioral Activation is one of the most effective and well-researched treatments for depression.
Depression tells you to withdraw, cancel plans, stay in bed, and stop doing the things that used to bring you joy. Behavioral Activation breaks that cycle directly: instead of waiting to feel motivated before taking action, you take action to create motivation. Rooted in decades of behavioral research and developed into a standalone treatment by researchers including Christopher Martell and Sona Dimidjian, BA is simple, powerful, and backed by extensive evidence. A Cochrane review of 53 studies with 5,495 participants found BA as effective as CBT for depression, and a landmark trial found BA comparable to antidepressant medication for severe depression. A meta-analysis of 28 trials confirmed strong effects on depression, anxiety, and behavioral activation. Schedule a free call to learn if Behavioral Activation is right for you.
Consistently Recognized as the #1 Online Therapy pick
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At Grouport, we offer multiple ways to access Behavioral Activation therapy, all led by licensed clinicians. Whether you prefer individual sessions for personalized activity planning, group therapy where shared accountability builds momentum, or a more intensive program, our BA-informed offerings are designed to help you re-engage with life. Many members choose to combine formats for the most comprehensive support.
Our online Behavioral Activation therapy is designed to help you break the depression-inactivity cycle through structured, meaningful action. Here is how to get started.
Whether you're interested in group therapy, individual sessions, couples or family therapy, or IOP, you'll start by selecting the type of support that fits your needs. Complete our onboarding form and sign up directly for the plan that suits you best.
After signing up, you'll connect with a dedicated care coordinator who will walk you through available therapists, group options, and scheduling. You'll make the final choice about your care based on your goals, preferences, and schedule.
Start taking action. Your therapist will guide you through activity monitoring, values-based activity scheduling, and gradual re-engagement with the parts of life depression has taken from you. Our team will support you every step of the way.
Whether you want individual BA sessions, group therapy for shared accountability, a combination of both, or our IOP program for more intensive care, you will start by selecting the format that fits your needs and schedule. Complete our onboarding form and sign up directly.
After signing up, you will connect with a dedicated care coordinator who will discuss your challenges, goals, and where you are in the change process. They will match you with a therapist trained in Behavioral Activation and walk you through your options. You will make the final choice about your care, including which therapists you will meet with and session times.
Start taking action. Your therapist will guide you through Behavioral Activation's structured approach: monitoring your current activities and mood, identifying patterns of avoidance and withdrawal, and gradually scheduling meaningful activities aligned with your values. Many people notice shifts in energy and mood within the first few weeks. Our team will be here to support you at every step.
Behavioral Activation is built on a simple but powerful insight: depression is not just a feeling; it is a pattern of withdrawal. When you feel depressed, you stop doing things. You cancel plans, stay in bed, avoid people, and drop the activities that used to bring meaning and pleasure. But this withdrawal makes depression worse, creating a vicious cycle: the less you do, the worse you feel, and the worse you feel, the less you do.
BA breaks this cycle directly. Rooted in decades of behavioral research by Peter Lewinsohn and developed into a standalone treatment by Christopher Martell, Sona Dimidjian, and Neil Jacobson, Behavioral Activation helps you systematically re-engage with activities that align with your values, even before you feel like it. The key principle is that action comes before motivation, not the other way around. You do not wait to feel better to start living. You start living, and feeling better follows.
A Cochrane review of 53 studies with 5,495 participants found Behavioral Activation as effective as CBT for treating depression. A landmark randomized trial found BA comparable to antidepressant medication for severe depression, with both outperforming cognitive therapy alone. A network meta-analysis of 331 RCTs confirmed no significant difference between BA and other major therapies including CBT and interpersonal therapy.
Behavioral Activation does not just reduce depression symptoms. It rebuilds the meaningful, engaged life that depression took away.
Depression creates a powerful pull toward isolation, avoidance, and inactivity. Every day you give in to that pull, the cycle deepens. Behavioral Activation interrupts this directly by helping you take small, manageable steps back into engagement, even on the days when everything in you says to stay under the covers. Each small action weakens the cycle's grip.
Depression robs you of the ability to enjoy things. Activities that once brought pleasure feel flat or pointless. BA helps you reconnect with sources of both pleasure and mastery (the satisfaction of accomplishment) by scheduling them into your week, even in small doses. Over time, the positive reinforcement from these activities naturally lifts mood and restores your sense of purpose.
One of the first things depression attacks is your social life. You cancel plans, stop returning messages, and isolate yourself, which deepens the depression. BA helps you gradually rebuild social contact in ways that feel manageable, starting with low-pressure activities and building toward deeper connection as your energy and confidence return.
When depression takes hold, routines collapse. Sleep schedules shift, meals become irregular, and days blur together. BA helps you rebuild a sustainable daily structure that supports your wellbeing: regular wake times, planned activities, and a balance of necessary tasks and rewarding experiences. This structure itself becomes a powerful antidepressant.
Depression and anxiety fuel avoidance: putting off emails, skipping appointments, avoiding difficult conversations. Each avoided task creates more stress and guilt, which feeds the depression. BA uses a structured, gradual approach to help you face avoided tasks one step at a time, reducing the weight of accumulated avoidance that keeps you stuck.
Because BA teaches you a concrete framework for understanding and managing the depression-inactivity cycle, you carry these skills forward long after therapy ends. When you notice withdrawal creeping back, you know exactly what to do: identify the pattern, schedule meaningful activities, and take action before the cycle deepens. This self-awareness is what makes BA's effects enduring.
BA sessions are structured, practical, and action-oriented. Here is how the process unfolds.
Your therapist helps you track what you are actually doing each day and how each activity affects your mood. This creates a clear picture of the depression-inactivity cycle in your own life: which activities lift your mood, which ones drain you, and where avoidance and withdrawal have taken over. Many people are surprised by the patterns they discover.
Together with your therapist, you identify your core values (relationships, work, health, creativity, etc.) and schedule activities that align with them. The key is starting small and building gradually. You are not trying to overhaul your life overnight. You are adding one or two meaningful activities to each day and noticing the effect. These scheduled activities become your antidepressant.
As positive activities increase and avoidance decreases, your mood naturally begins to lift. Your therapist helps you build on this momentum, tackle larger avoided areas, and develop a long-term plan for staying active and engaged. You learn to recognize the early signs of the withdrawal cycle so you can intervene before depression deepens again.
See how our therapy options have helped our members experience life-changing results
Stephanie
“Grouport is time flexible and affordable and if it didn’t exist, I don’t know where I would go. I had looked into other places before Grouport and there really wasn’t any option like it.”
Michael
“I highly recommend this to anyone who is struggling with anxiety or depression. The therapists are top notch and have made me feel really comfortable and my anxiety has improved tremendously in only a few sessions!”
Isabel
"I joined Grouport to work on myself and to heal. I’m learning so much at every session! The change I see not only in myself but in my fellow group members is abundantly encouraging and profoundly fulfilling. Group therapy with Grouport is a powerful healing tool."
Sheldon
“I was feeling very down at the end of 2020 and I was ready to do something drastic that I know I'd likely regret. The group definitely helped show me that there are people who feel the same way as I do.”
Nancy
“The therapy from Grouport is high quality and convenient. I am becoming much more self aware and am liking myself more. My relationships at work are better and I’m much happier.”
Emily
“I like the connection you can make with total strangers and the confidentiality it comes with.”
Danielle
"Grouport can help you with your issues. Their therapists are well trained to work with you on your issues. I felt my anxiety greatly improve after only a few sessions. I highly recommend it!"
Glenn
"Grouport's approach to DBT is a real strength. This approach provides tools and methods for working with difficult emotions and getting a handle on them. It has given me hope where other approaches have failed."
Behavioral Activation was developed specifically for depression but has shown effectiveness across a range of conditions where withdrawal, avoidance, and reduced activity play a role.
Depression is Behavioral Activation's primary target and strongest evidence base. A Cochrane review of 53 studies found BA as effective as CBT, and a landmark trial found it comparable to antidepressant medication for severe depression. BA directly addresses the withdrawal-inactivity cycle that maintains and deepens depressive episodes.
The Dimidjian (2006) trial found that among more severely depressed patients, BA was comparable to antidepressant medication and both outperformed cognitive therapy. This makes BA especially valuable when depression is too severe for insight-oriented approaches, because it does not require the cognitive capacity that depression often impairs.
Anxiety often co-occurs with depression, and both conditions fuel avoidance. A meta-analysis of 28 trials found BA produced meaningful improvements in anxiety symptoms alongside depression. By systematically addressing avoidance behaviors and gradually increasing engagement, BA helps break anxiety's grip on daily functioning.
Research with combat veterans found BA improved PTSD, depression, and quality of life in primary care settings. BA's focus on countering avoidance and re-engaging with meaningful activities addresses core features of PTSD without requiring detailed trauma processing, making it a valuable standalone or complementary approach.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found BA effective for co-occurring depression and substance use disorders. By helping people develop alternative, healthy sources of reward and engagement, BA addresses the behavioral patterns that maintain both conditions simultaneously.
Depression frequently co-occurs with chronic illness, including diabetes, cancer, and chronic pain. BA has shown positive results for depressed patients with physical health conditions, improving both mood and health behaviors. Its flexible, activity-based approach can be adapted to physical limitations while still creating meaningful engagement.
Every Grouport therapist is a licensed, accredited mental health professional with specialized training in evidence-based approaches including Behavioral Activation, and extensive clinical experience in depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, social withdrawal, and chronic illness comorbidity.
Our therapists typically have over a decade of clinical experience across diverse settings, with specialized expertise in Behavioral Activation, action-based, and behavioral approaches, as well as depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, and low motivation. Our therapists are trained in Behavioral Activation and other proven modalities to provide the best fit for your needs.
We continually evaluate outcomes through internal studies and outcomes studies with researchers from leading universities such as Carnegie Mellon, University of Essex, and University of Cologne.
MEET OUR THERAPISTS
a healthier future starts right here
80%of our members start with moderate to severe mental health symptoms
70% of our members feel significantly better within just 8 weeks
50% of our members achieve remission levels within just 8 weeks
80%
of our members start with moderate to severe mental health symptoms
70%
of our members feel significantly better within just 8 weeks
50%
of our members achieve remission levels within just 8 weeks
Group, individual, couples, family, IOP, and teen therapy — all online, all therapist-led. Mix and match care options to fit your needs — and get discounted pricing when you bundle.
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Behavioral Activation breaks the depression-inactivity cycle through purposeful, values-aligned action. Our licensed therapists also treat a wide range of conditions using proven methods.
Behavioral Activation (BA) is an evidence-based therapy for depression that works by helping you systematically re-engage with meaningful, pleasurable, and values-aligned activities. Rather than focusing on changing your thoughts, BA breaks the depression-inactivity cycle directly through action. A Cochrane review of 53 studies found BA as effective as CBT for depression, and a landmark trial found it comparable to antidepressant medication for severe depression.
Grouport provides online group therapy, individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, teen therapy, intensive outpatient program (IOP), all held virtually over video chat. We also offer a DBT self-guided program, which gives you lifetime access to a self-paced DBT program with therapist-guided lessons.
Many members combine multiple therapy types, such as group + individual therapy, to best fit their needs.
Yes. Our therapists are licensed mental health professionals (PhD, PsyD, LCSW, LMHC, LMFT) with training in Behavioral Activation and behavioral approaches for depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, and chronic illness comorbidity. Our network includes:
✅ Licensed Psychologists (PhD, PsyD)
✅ Licensed Social Workers (LCSW)
✅ Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC)
✅ Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT)
CBT focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns. Behavioral Activation focuses on changing what you do rather than what you think. BA's core principle is that action creates motivation, not the other way around. While CBT works from thoughts to behavior, BA works from behavior to mood. Research shows both are equally effective for depression, but BA can be simpler to implement and may be especially effective for severe depression.
BA is designed to be relatively brief and efficient. Many people begin to notice improvements in mood and energy within a few weeks of consistent activity scheduling. At Grouport, 70% of our members feel significantly better within just 8 weeks. Your therapist will work with you to determine the right pace for your goals.
Yes. BA's structured, activity-based approach translates effectively to online format. Research on digital and telehealth BA has shown significant reductions in depressive symptoms. All Grouport sessions are held via secure, HIPAA-compliant video chat.
BA was developed specifically for depression and has its strongest evidence there, including for severe and treatment-resistant depression. It also shows effectiveness for anxiety, PTSD, co-occurring substance use and depression, depression with chronic illness, and adolescent depression. A meta-analysis of 28 trials found meaningful improvements in both depression and anxiety.
We offer flexible therapy options with straightforward pricing:
Online Group Therapy: Averages $32/session ($140/month).
Online Individual Therapy: Averages $103/session ($448/month).
Online Couples Therapy: Averages $114/session ($492/month).
Online Family Therapy: Averages $148/session ($640/month).
Virtual IOP: $311/week ($1,348/month).
Online Teen Therapy: Averages $103/session ($448/month).
DBT Self-Guided Program: One-time fee of $500.
Payment Options: Monthly, Quarterly (Save 10%), Biannually (Save 15%). No long-term commitment. Switch therapists anytime. Cancel anytime!
You can cancel anytime, and your membership will remain active until the end of your current billing period. After that, your plan will not renew, and no further payments will be charged. To cancel, email us at support@grouporttherapy.com and we will send you a quick cancellation form to fill out. You can view more information on our Recurring Billing Policy.
Our therapy outcomes are backed by outcomes studies with researchers from leading universities such as Carnegie Mellon, University of Essex, and University of Cologne.
80% of members start with moderate to severe symptoms.
70% see clinically significant reduction within 8 weeks.
50% achieve remission levels within 8 weeks.
Grouport is available worldwide for everyone! All sessions are held virtually over video chat. We offer separate therapy groups for Adults (18+) and Teens & Adolescents (under 18), so each age group receives care tailored to their needs.
Yes! We want you to feel confident and comfortable with your therapy experience. After signing up, a care coordinator will reach out to understand your needs and match you with the right therapist and schedule of your choosing.
✅ You will be able to choose your group and therapist.
✅ Most members are placed within a few hours, or within 24-72 hours max.
✅ Flexible options: If you ever want to switch groups or therapists, we can easily make adjustments to ensure the best fit.
That is exactly the point. BA is built on the principle that action comes before motivation, not the other way around. You do not need to feel motivated to start. Your therapist will help you begin with very small, manageable steps, sometimes as simple as getting out of bed and taking a short walk. As you complete these small activities, motivation begins to build naturally. The research shows this approach works even for severe depression where motivation is extremely low.
No. BA is much more than productivity advice. It involves understanding the specific patterns of withdrawal and avoidance maintaining your depression, connecting activities to your personal values, monitoring the relationship between activities and mood, and systematically addressing avoidance. Your therapist guides this process with clinical expertise, helping you identify which activities will have the most impact and how to structure your re-engagement so it is sustainable rather than overwhelming.
Yes. BA works well alongside antidepressant medication and is often used in combination. The landmark Dimidjian trial found BA comparable to medication for severe depression, and many clinicians recommend both together for comprehensive treatment. BA can also help you build the behavioral foundation that supports medication effectiveness.
Yes. In fact, BA may be especially well-suited for severe depression. The landmark Dimidjian (2006) trial found that among more severely depressed patients, BA was comparable to antidepressant medication and both outperformed cognitive therapy. Because BA does not require the cognitive capacity that depression often impairs, it can work even when you cannot think clearly enough for insight-oriented approaches.
Yes. A systematic review of 24 studies found BA can reduce symptoms of depression in children and young people. BA's focus on doing rather than talking about feelings is especially appealing to teens. At Grouport, we offer separate therapy groups for Adults (18+) and Teens & Adolescents (under 18) to ensure age-appropriate support.
Whether depression has you stuck in bed, avoiding friends, or unable to find motivation for anything, Behavioral Activation can help you break the cycle by taking small, meaningful steps back into life. With licensed therapists, extensive research evidence, and flexible online formats, Grouport makes it easy to get started. Take the first step toward feeling like yourself again today.
