Social skills training in behavior therapy with college students diagnosed with depression

The development of depression has been attributable to issues such as interpersonal difficulties and social skills deficits. The current study, developed as a single subject design, aimed at evaluating the effects of social skills training in group behavior therapy with depressed students, comparing the results obtained before and after the intervention and in a follow up, making use of validated instruments for depression and social skills. Among the main results are the remission of the depression diagnose and the increased frequency and diversity of social skills. The sessions’ analysis reaffirmed the importance of obtaining reinforcement concerning friendship, love and family relations. The most developed social skills were to express positive and negative feelings, asking for behavior change, dealing with criticism, defending ideas in disagreement situation and self-control of aggressiveness. The categorization of the therapists’ behavior showed high frequency of asking for contemplation, recommendation and establishing explicative relations. Such variables in the therapeutic process are discussed with regards to the results and suggestions for future researches are provided.