Gac Méd Caracas 693 Systematic review on the efficacy of behavioral activation therapy in the management of adult patients with depression Revisión sistemática sobre la eficacia de la terapia de activación conductual en el manejo de pacientes adultos con depresión Mariajose Riaño-Camperos 1 , Jendy Valentina Melo-Contreras 2 , Tatiana Marín-Avellaneda 3 , Ginna Pérez-Reyes 4 , Leonardo Becerra-Millán 5 , Víctor Caicedo-Téllez 6 , Gloria Silva-Monsalve 7 , Enna Beatriz Jaimes-Duarte 8 , Diego Rivera-Porras 9 Gac Méd Caracas 2023;131(3):693-711 DOI: 10.47307/GMC.2023.131.3.21 ARTÍCULO DE REVISIÓN SUMMARY Introduction: This work aimed to assess the approach of behavioral activation for the treatment of adult patients diagnosed with depressive disorder; the importance of this study in the clinical setting is significant since it allowed us to know the viability and acceptability of the treatment. Behavioral activation is the basis of this study. Materials and method: Systematic review, under the PRISMA methodology, the PICO tool was implemented to formulate the research question. Results: 42 articles were located, of which, upon complete reading, 23 met the inclusion criteria established for the review. Analysis and discussion: The rationale of the studies found provided significant scientific evidence in favor of behavioral activation for adults diagnosed with depressive disorder. Conclusions: It was possible to deduce that behavioral activation is a key factor for the minimization of clinically significant symptoms in patients with depressive disorder. Keywords: Behavioral activation, major depression, psychotherapy, psychological therapy. Recibido: 21 de julio 2023 Aceptado: 14 de agosto 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47307/GMC.2023.131.3.21 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7591-7709 1 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9946-6518 2 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3958-2490 3 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3607-4047 4 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9273-9552 5 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8523-7645 6 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9517 7 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9415-8973 8 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2169-3208 9 1 Universidad de Santander Campus Cúcuta. E-mail: cuc18211003@mail.udes.edu.co. 2 Universidad de Santander campus Cúcuta. E-mail: cuc17211013@mail.udes.edu.co. 3 Universidad de Santander campus Cúcuta. E-mail: tat. marin@mail.udes.edu.co. 4 Universidad de Pamplona, Facultad de Salud, Pamplona – Colombia. E-mail: ginna.perez@unipamplona.edu.co. 5 Universidad de Santander campus Cúcuta. E-mail: leonardo.becerra@mail.udes.edu.co. 6 Universidad de Pamplona, Facultad de Salud, Pamplona – Colombia. E-mail: victor.caicedo@unipamplona.edu.co. 7 Universidad de Santander campus Cúcuta. E-mail: coord. psicologia.cuc@cucuta.udes.edu.co. 8 Universidad de Pamplona, Facultad de Salud, Pamplona – Colombia. E-mail: enna.jaimes@unipamplona.edu.co. E-mail: die.rivera@mail.udes.edu.co.