A Cross-Cultural Conceptual Comparison of Behavioral Activation and Ikigai

Cultural bridging may alleviate and catalyze the therapeutic process and help to match therapeutic interventions and patient preferences. In this article, we propose to enhance Western-originated prevention and treatment of depression (behavioral activation) with an Eastern-originated cultural concept of the purpose of living (ikigai).Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective standard method (within cognitive-behavior therapy) to treat depression, whereas ikigai is a Japanese life philosophy attitude. Both approaches share the fundamental idea that the reflection of personal values guides the individual's everyday decisions. In the present narrative review, we try to explain and systematically compare both approaches to explore the possibilities of their meaningful integration.While the literature underscored the striking similarity between the fundamental ideas of both concepts, the main difference is that ikigai, as a traditional, non-psychotherapeutic approach, refers more to intuition and metaphorical heuristics. We introduce when and how the practice of ikigai could enhance behavioral activation interventions in psychotherapy and its transfer into everyday life.