Starra, Yes, do begin enacting your treatment goals. You'll be asked about this in your next session. You can go back and look through the reading material of Session 1 or any other session by clicking on the program reference tab in your Session Diary. Keep us posted and please don't hesistate to ask more questions. Danielle ____________________ The DC Support Team

3-5 goals, a treatment plan for each of them, schedule and do as many pleasant activities as you are able to (at least 2), and your activity schedule. Start working on your treatment plans and toward your goals as soon as you like -- it may take some time to embed the activities into habits. If it works for you, you can count the pleasant activities within your treatment plans as the pleasant activities for your homework. I think the point of scheduling pleasant activities is that many people struggling with depression find it quite difficult to either do or remember to do things that we enjoy. If that's not an issue for you, then don't worry about it. With any structured program for a large group of people, it can be tricky to maintain the structure and yet be flexible enough to account for individual differences from one person to another. Parts that are very meaningful and helpful for one person may be less so for another. You may find it helpful to look at the spirit or intention of the homework rather than the specific detail, and pulling it together into something that works for you :) And my apologies, you're right. The session notes aren't under Your Progress, they are under the Program Reference Tools tab. It can be a bit of a maze at times. Good luck :)

Okay, what I am not clear on is if the only expected outcome of this week is to have 3-5 goals and a treatment plan for one of them, and schedule two pleasant activities and that's it, or if I am supposed to start enacting the treatment plan this week. My 5 goals only have 5 or 6 steps, and they're more like habits or maintenance behaviours rather than something I do just once and never have to look at it again. So I've been trying to integrate Step One from each of my 5 Treatment Plans (that I've already written and that's where it feels like I'm cheating the program here) and most of those Treatment Plans include scheduling something pleasant. And secondly, what I meant is that you can't go back to Session One and look at all the reading material or where they outline the homework. You can only look back on what you graded yourself and how your week was and pointing out how you may or may not be feeling. It doesn't give a review of the homework or the notes to get you there. I don't want to get ahead of myself (and the program here) and set myself up for failure, so that's why I am asking if I'm supposed to slow it down and only do one goal at a time.

Starra, Your goals are great! Although it may not take that many steps to get where you want to be, it may take some effort to keep up with some of your long-standing goals such as keeping a cleaner home. Have you given any thought to what kind of steps you'll take to help you with the maintenance aspect of your goals? Just as your fellow member mentionned, you'll get more homework as you progress through the program. You'll also tackle other issues that are associated with depression and you may find as you progress, you may add new treatment goals. Hope this helps clarify. Danielle ____________________ The DC Support Team

Hi Starra I was waiting to give others a chance (I feel like I'm talking too much) but if you're going to get impatient :)... In one sense, yes, it is that easy: you define your goals and a treatment plan per goal, and then you put it into action. Fill out your Activity Schedule and do one or two Pleasant Activities a day and you're done. For this week. Whether you work on your goals one at a time or a few (or all) at a time is really up to what's most practical and works best for you. You'll get more homework from each session and each session builds on the previous ones, so you can't really skip through and still get full benefit from the program. It may seem slow at first, particularly if you're familiar with CBT and/or have been through other forms of therapy, but bear with it and the challenges will come. I suppose that my next question to you is (and I say this kindly -- it's hard to evoke tone online), if it's so easy to get to where you want to be, why aren't you there already? Just wondering if you are underestimating how much emotional energy it can take to do a few seeming simple things. If your work and the daily aftermath of it is what's holding you back, you may want to consider whether or not the goals that you have set are relevant enough to your current state of mind. Personally, and I know that you didn't ask this but I'll throw in my opinion anyway, I think that your goals are great. Ultimately, something in your worklife needs to change significantly, and that can be pretty daunting for most people. So looking after yourself and your relationship/s first is easier (you're control in these areas is usually greater) and of greater priority. If your job is gone, you can find another one. Not so easy to regain/repair your health and sense of well-being or your relationship with your husband if they go. Finally, in allowing you to feel success and feel better physically, you'll be able to address your work stuff with greater strength, perspective and judgment. Small goals, big impact. Sounds great. And don't denigrate simple -- simple is good :) Not sure what you mean by not being able to go back and look at the notes, so you may already know this -- in your Session Diary section, under the Your Progress tab, are the notes f

Am I not sick enough to get any feedback?

Okay, since we can't go back and look at the notes on the Session we are working on (I'm on the homework for Session Two, Treatment Goals, Plans and Pleasant Activities) I set 5 goals that are where I want to be 15 weeks. 1) To take better care of my appearance 2) To have a cleaner, tidier home 3) To make the most of the little time I have with my husband 4) To get more exercise/be more health conscious 5) To get a new job. The homework, it seems is to develop 3-5 treatment goals, develop one treatment plan and schedule one or two pleasant activities. Is that really it? Because for the first treatment goal, I've only got like 6 steps I need to do. In fact if I added up all the steps I need to take for ALL my treatment goals, I don't think they would add up to 30. Or is the point to start working on the treatment plan for one treatment goal, including the pleasant activities, for this week? Because this all seems way too simple, and the only thing holding me back is the 40 hours of grinding unpleasantness at my work that leaves me tired, exhausted and crying for an hour after I leave there.