Abstract
Objective
Anhedonia is a transdiagnostic symptom present in depressive and anxiety disorders. To date, anhedonia is insufficiently addressed by mainstream empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatments, including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). As such, treatments designed to improve anhedonia through repairing dysfunctional positive emotion systems are emerging. The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate the literature that examines the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce anhedonia by increasing positive affect.
Method
Records were obtained from Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Cochrane. A total of 4485 articles were screened, 22 were reviewed in full, with a total of 7 randomised control trials (RCTs) and 3 pre-post trials being included in the final analysis. RCTs included between 28 and 174 participants per study, while pre-post trials included between six and 11 participants. The total pooled sample size was 618 participants.
Results
Results indicated that interventions designed to improve positive affect effectively reduced symptoms of anhedonia, depression, or anxiety. However, limitations were identified across studies and risk of bias was evaluated as moderate, limiting the validity of conclusions.
Conclusions
The findings highlight the potential clinical utility of interventions designed to improve positive affect in the treatment of anhedonia in depressive and anxiety disorders.
Anhedonia is a transdiagnostic symptom present in depressive and anxiety disorders. To date, anhedonia is insufficiently addressed by mainstream empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatments, including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). As such, treatments designed to improve anhedonia through repairing dysfunctional positive emotion systems are emerging. The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate the literature that examines the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce anhedonia by increasing positive affect.
Method
Records were obtained from Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Cochrane. A total of 4485 articles were screened, 22 were reviewed in full, with a total of 7 randomised control trials (RCTs) and 3 pre-post trials being included in the final analysis. RCTs included between 28 and 174 participants per study, while pre-post trials included between six and 11 participants. The total pooled sample size was 618 participants.
Results
Results indicated that interventions designed to improve positive affect effectively reduced symptoms of anhedonia, depression, or anxiety. However, limitations were identified across studies and risk of bias was evaluated as moderate, limiting the validity of conclusions.
Conclusions
The findings highlight the potential clinical utility of interventions designed to improve positive affect in the treatment of anhedonia in depressive and anxiety disorders.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 216-232 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Clinical Psychologist |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 19 May 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s) 2025. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- anhedonia
- mood
- positive interventions
- review
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