The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time
Alex Korb is a neuroscientist who went into graduate school wanting to know what was wrong with the brain in depression. He is direct about what he found: there is generally nothing measurably wrong. Imaging studies show differences on average across groups, which is not the same as something a scan could find in one person. That matters clinically, because “I feel like something is broken” is one of the things depression reliably produces, and it is not what the science says.
What the research does support is smaller and more useful. Activity, movement, breath, sleep, attention, goals, gratitude and acceptance each act on the same circuits, and small changes in each compound. He calls it an upward spiral, which is also the title of his book, and he is careful that there is no single recipe: the mix that works differs between people and changes across a life. What he teaches is the science and then a method for working out your own.
Twelve hours across eighteen sessions, taken at your own pace. Four sessions on the brain and the neuroscience, pitched so you could pass the explanation on. Then the spirals in turn: activity, movement, the breath and body, goals and values, reframing thoughts, turning values into decisions. Two sessions on sleep and what it does. Stress. Gratitude and a broader range of positive emotion. Two on mindfulness and acceptance. He is an unusually honest guide, more interested in what the evidence supports than in overselling it, and he closes by saying plainly that he cannot tell you the answer, only what tends to work.
You’ll walk away with
- What neuroscience can and cannot say about depression, including why a brain scan will not diagnose it
- The circuits involved, explained clearly enough that you could pass the explanation on
- The activity spiral, and why doing something matters before wanting to do something arrives
- Exercise and movement, what they do neurochemically, and how much is enough to matter
- Breath and body practices, and the physiology that makes them work
- Goals and values: clarifying what matters, then turning that into decisions and action
- Reframing thoughts, with the research on attending against regulating in the moment
- Sleep across two sessions, including what the brain does overnight and how to sleep better
- Stress, the three Cs of controllability, certainty and consequences, and what each one gives you to work with
- Gratitude, positive memory, and using your environment to do some of the work for you
- Mindfulness and acceptance, and why action without acceptance becomes a treadmill
- A scientific method for working out which combination suits a particular person, since there is no universal one
Watch the course trailer
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Format: Alex Korb delivers this as a personal programme, addressing you directly and asking you to apply each step to your own life. Clinicians use it both ways: as a framework and a vocabulary for client work, and for themselves.
Where this sits: Session 13, Decreasing Stress, is the same recording as one of the three sessions in The Upward Spiral for Managing Stress. If you take this course, you already have roughly a third of that one.
Course Duration: 12 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
When clinicians need practical, brain-based strategies to help clients break free from depression and anxiety cycles, they turn to Alex Korb. His evidence-backed approach shows practitioners how small neuroplasticity shifts can create lasting change for their most challenging cases.
With over 20 years in neuroscience research at UCLA's Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Korb is the bestselling author of The Upward Spiral, the definitive guide that translates complex depression neuroscience into actionable clinical tools. His decade-long coaching practice has refined methods that help clients rewire stress responses and unlock resilience - insights he now shares with mental health professionals through his signature training programs.
Korb's clinical focus spans depression, anxiety, and mood disorders, with special expertise in neuromodulation and wellbeing interventions. His approach combines rigorous neuroscience with practical mindfulness techniques, giving clinicians concrete protocols they can implement immediately. Rather than abstract theory, he teaches practitioners how brain circuits actually change through targeted interventions, making treatment planning more precise and outcomes more predictable.
What sets his training apart is real-world application. Korb has coached hundreds of clients while maintaining active research at UCLA, so he understands both the science and the messy realities of clinical work. His methods help clinicians identify which neural pathways to target for specific symptoms, how to sequence interventions for maximum impact, and ways to help clients maintain progress between sessions.
For your practice, expect to gain specific techniques for interrupting rumination cycles, practical tools for building client resilience, and clear frameworks for explaining brain-based healing to clients in ways they understand and embrace.
Quick Win: Korb's "neural momentum" principle teaches that tiny consistent actions create more lasting brain change than major sporadic efforts—a game-changer for client motivation and treatment compliance.
Qualifications
- Ph.D., Neuroscience, UCLA, 2010
- B.S., Neuroscience, Brown University, 2002
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences
- Over a dozen peer-reviewed publications in depression and neuromodulation research
Authored Books
- The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time (2015)
Featured & Recognition
- Psychology Today blog columnist (PreFrontal Nudity)
- Curable Health podcast guest (2019)
- LawyersWithDepression interview (2022)
Teaching & Roles
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, 2010–present
- Coach and Founder, Upward Spiral Coaching, Los Angeles, 2015–present
- Consultant, Parent Lab Inc., 2018–2025
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 2
- Topics 18
- Duration 12 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English