There’s a way depression affects people that often goes unspoken because it doesn’t look exactly like sadness. For some, depression isn’t about overwhelming emotion. It’s the baffling, painful absence of feeling anything at all.
In clinical trials conducted at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at Southern Methodist University, Positive Affect Treatment (PAT) attempts to address depression with a different methodology. Researchers created a 15-session approach that focuses less on reducing sadness and more on helping people rediscover joy.
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Relearning how to feel good
Anhedonia affects up to 90% of people suffering from severe depression. This inability to feel pleasure, along with a basic lack of interest in life, is closely linked to chronic mental illness and suicide risk.
Most depression treatments understandably focus on reducing pain, calming anxiety, and interrupting spiraling thoughts. This approach has helped millions of people and remains important.
But the researchers behind PAT started asking different questions: What if recovery isn’t about feeling less bad? What if it’s also about relearning how to feel good again?
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A treatment that targets the brain’s reward system
The therapy is designed to target the brain’s reward system. By retraining attention to focus more on positive experiences, researchers saw greater improvements than with traditional therapies that focused mainly on reducing negative emotions.
Culminating more than a decade of research, psychologist Alicia E. Meuret, who co-led the study, believes targeting positive emotions is a more powerful treatment.
“When people feel hopeless, they don’t believe anything will change. That’s what anhedonia can look like, and taking away negative emotions doesn’t fix it,” Meuret said in a story on the university’s website.
“Treatment needs to ask: Is this activity meaningful to you? Will it give you joy or a sense of accomplishment? Does it foster connection?” Meuret added.
Participants who received PAT treatment showed greater improvements and reported feeling interested in life again.
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Depression is on the rise
The National Center for Health Statistics reported in 2025 that there has been a sharp increase in the prevalence of depression over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic, worsening socioeconomic conditions, social isolation, and increased feelings of loneliness are likely key contributors to America’s growing depression crisis. The demographics most affected are younger adults, women, and financially vulnerable groups.
In 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released youth mental health statistics showing that 40% of high school students in the United States experience persistent sadness and hopelessness. Depression rates among Americans have increased by nearly 60%. Modern lifestyles have left many people feeling stuck, mindlessly doomscrolling, and isolating themselves.
That’s part of what makes this therapy feel so unexpectedly hopeful. Joy, wonder, and excitement may be skills the brain can rebuild. Teaching people to look forward positively and find gratitude by noticing little things, like sunlight through a window, may seem small. However, the study suggests this simple practice can feel revolutionary.
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