Transdiagnostic Treatment Personalization

Transdiagnostic Treatment Personalization: Prioritizing Therapy Components to Capitalize on Strengths or Compensate for Weaknesses

The primary purpose of this study is to explore whether the efficiency of treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders can be increased using two discrete strategies: personalized skill ordering and 2) treatment discontinuation based on proximal indicators of improvements. The present study will specifically use treatment components drawn from an evidence-based psychological intervention, the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP). This intervention has strong empirical support for patients presenting with anxiety, depressive, and related disorders and contains therapeutic skills that are common in psychological interventions (e.g., psychoeducation, mindfulness training, cognitive restructuring, countering emotional avoidance, increasing interoceptive tolerance). This study will determine if prioritizing the order of treatment modules to capitalize on patient strengths or compensate for weakensses increases treatmen efficacy. Additionally, it will also identify under what conditions briefer treatment modules may be appropriate.

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosis of at least one emotional disorder
• fluent in English
• medication stability

Exclusion Criteria:

• concurrent therapy
• psychological condition that would be better addressed by alternative treatments
• have received more than 5 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy in the past 5 years