Adaptation of unified protocol treatment for transdiagnostic disorders in Pakistan: A heuristic framework.

The access to evidence-based treatments for mental health problems is limited in low-resource settings. Transdiagnostic approaches, such as the Unified Protocol (UP), are a potential solution for these settings because they are multi-problem focused, modular, flexible, and have low complexity. This study aimed to adapt UP to the mental health context of an urban speciality clinic in Pakistan using a four-step process of heuristic framework.

An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire in Ethiopia.

Aim: Few psychosis screening instruments have been tested for use in Africa, yet appropriate tools can increase the detection of self-reported psychotic symptoms, improve the detection of psychosis and impact its prognosis.

Method: The construct validity and factor structure of Psychosis Screening Questionnaire (PSQ) were tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) in a sample of 1928 Ethiopian adults without any history of psychosis. We tested a unidimensional model with and without an item on mania.

Cross-cultural equivalence of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) across four African countries in a multi-national study of adults.

The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) has been widely used to screen psychological distress across many countries. However, its performance has not been extensively studied in Africa. The present study sought to evaluate and compare measurement properties of the K10 across four African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.

Experiences of trauma and psychometric properties of the Life Events Checklist among adults in Uganda.

Exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTE) is common and increases an individual's risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disorders. PTEs can be screened with the Life Events Checklist for DSM 5 (LEC-5). However, the psychometric properties of the LEC-5 have never been assessed in Uganda.

Factor structure of psychosis screening questionnaire in Ugandan adults.

Background: Psychotic disorders are common and contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality of people with psychiatric diseases. Therefore, early screening and detection may facilitate early intervention and reduce adverse outcomes. Screening tools that lay persons can administer are particularly beneficial in low resource settings.

Psychosis screening questionnaire: Exploring its factor structure among South African adults.

Background: Early detection of psychosis improves treatment outcomes, but there is limited research evaluating the validity of psychosis screening instruments, particularly in low-resourced countries.

Aim: This study aims to assess the construct validity and psychometric properties of the psychosis screening questionnaire (PSQ) in South Africa.

Setting: This study was conducted at several health centres in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa.

Outcomes of People of Color in an Efficacy Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Anxiety, Depression, and Related Disorders: Preliminary Evidence.

Although evidence-based psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have strong empirical support for reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, CBT outcome research often does not report race and ethnicity variables, or assess how well CBT works for people from historically excluded racial and ethnic groups. This study presents post hoc analyses comparing treatment retention and symptom outcomes for participants of color ( n = 43) and White participants ( n = 136) from a randomized controlled efficacy trial of CBT. χ 2 tests and one-way ANCOVA showed no observable differences between the two samples on attrition or on clinician-rated measures of anxiety and depression at posttreatment and follow-up.

Measuring Traumatic Experiences in a Sample of Ethiopian Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Life Events Checklist-5.

Background: Traumatic events. e.g.

Trauma exposure and psychometric properties of the life events checklist among adults in South Africa.

Trauma exposure is widespread and linked to chronic physical and mental health conditions including posttraumatic stress disorder. However, there are major gaps in our knowledge of trauma exposure in Africa and on the validity of instruments to assess potentially life-threatening trauma exposure. The Life Events Checklist for the DSM-5 (LEC-5) is a free, widely used questionnaire to assess traumatic events that can be associated with psychopathology.

Construct Validity of the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire in Ugandan Adults.

Background: Psychotic disorders are common and contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality of people with psychiatric diseases. Therefore, early screening and detection may facilitate early intervention and reduce adverse outcomes. Screening tools that lay persons can administer are particularly beneficial in low resource settings.

Factor structure and item response of psychosis symptoms among Kenyan adults.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the construct validity of the psychosis module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview version 7.0.2 (MINI-7).

Construct validity and factor structure of the Kessler-10 in South Africa.

Background: The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) is a short screening tool developed to identify, with good sensitivity, non-specific psychological distress in the general population. Sensitivity and specificity of the K-10 have been examined in various clinical populations in South Africa; however, other psychometric properties, such as construct validity and factor structure, have not been evaluated. We present evidence of the prevalence and severity of psychological distress in an outpatient setting in South Africa and evaluate the internal reliability, construct validity, and factor structure of the K-10 in this population.

Construct validity and factor structure of the K-10 among Ugandan adults.

Background: Psychological distress is often used as a proxy measure for the mental health of a population. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) is a widely used brief screening tool for psychological distress, yet few studies have evaluated its utility in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated its construct validity and factor structure in Uganda.

Cross-country variations in the reporting of psychotic symptoms among sub-Saharan African adults: A psychometric evaluation of the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire.

Background: Self-reporting of psychotic symptoms varies significantly between cultures and ethnic groups. Yet, limited validated screening instruments are available to capture such differences in the African continent.

Methodology: Among 9,059 individuals participating as controls in a multi-country case-control study of the genetic causes of psychosis, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire (PSQ).

Traumatic experiences assessed with the life events checklist for Kenyan adults.

Background: Life Events Checklist (LEC-5) has been widely used to assess for exposure to potentially traumatic life events (PTEs), but its psychometric properties have not been evaluated in Kenya. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency and types of PTEs within this setting and to examine the construct validity of LEC-5 in Kenya.

Methods: The LEC-5 was administered to 5316 participants in the ongoing multisite case-control study of Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Populations-Psychosis.

Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Kessler-10 among Ethiopian adults.

Background: Many common mental disorders are underdiagnosed and undertreated in low-resource countries. The ten-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) is a brief screening tool widely used to assess psychological distress. We evaluated the K10's performance in an Ethiopian population by assessing internal consistency and construct validity through factor structure.

Measuring psychological distress using the K10 in Kenya.

Background: The Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) is a brief screening tool that assesses psychological distress in both clinical and epidemiological settings. Despite wide applicability of the K10 globally, there are no data on psychometric properties of the K10 in Kenya. This study investigated the reliability, factor structure, and construct validity of the K10 as a measure of psychological distress among adults in Kenya.

Skill Acquisition During Transdiagnostic Treatment With the Unified Protocol.

The Unified Protocol (UP) for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders is an emotion-focused, cognitive-behavioral intervention developed to address the full range of anxiety, depressive, and related disorders. The UP consists of core therapeutic skills that, though unique in focus, are each designed to promote an approach-oriented stance toward emotional experiences. The goal of the present investigation was to characterize changes in these skills for patients that received a course of treatment with the UP, as well as to examine associations between skills and symptoms changes.

Psychotherapy in a resource-constrained setting: Understanding context for adapting and integrating a brief psychological intervention into primary care.

Low- and middle-income countries have few mental health professionals, and efforts to increase access to treatment are a global priority. A key gap is the lack of integration of psychotherapy interventions as a part of accessible evidence-based care. Current recommendations suggest that the integration of mental health treatments, including psychotherapy, into existing primary care pathways may serve as a means to address this disparity.

A Stakeholder-Engaged Process for Adapting an Evidence-Based Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for Peer Delivery.

Purpose: Peer providers represent a growing sector of the U.S. workforce, yet guidance is needed on best practices for adapting behavioral health interventions for peer delivery.

Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in individuals with severe mental illness in a non-western setting: Data from rural Ethiopia.

Unlabelled: Traumatic events and ensuing stress are not widely studied in individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) despite their increased vulnerability to both. Far less is known about traumatic events and posttrauma reactions in people with SMI in low-resourced settings.

Objective: To address this gap in knowledge, our study focused on trauma and its effects for individuals with SMI and their caregivers in rural Ethiopia.

A Preliminary Investigation of Provider Attitudes Toward a Transdiagnostic Treatment: Outcomes from Training Workshops with the Unified Protocol.

Evidence-based psychological treatments (EBPTs) for common mental health conditions are efficacious but remain underutilized in clinical service settings. Novel transdiagnostic and modular approaches that treat several disorders simultaneously promise to address common barriers to the dissemination and implementation of traditional EBPTs. Despite the promise that transdiagnostic treatments hold, the claims that these interventions can be more easily disseminated and implemented have not been widely tested.

Treating depressive disorders with the Unified Protocol: A preliminary randomized evaluation.

Objectives: This study aims to examine the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) for individuals diagnosed with a depressive disorder.

Method: Participants included 44 adults who met criteria for major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, or another specified depressive disorder according to the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS). These individuals represent a subset of patients from a larger clinical trial comparing the UP to single-disorder protocols (SDPs) for discrete anxiety disorders and a waitlist control (WLC) condition (Barlow et al.

Changes in positive affect in cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.

Objective: This study evaluated changes in positive affect within cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) for anxiety disorders. It was hypothesized that there would be significantly greater increases in positive affect in CBT conditions compared to the waitlist, and particularly higher in the Unified Protocol (UP) than the single disorder protocols (SDP) given the UP's focus on emotions (including positive emotions) rather than symptoms.

Method: Patients with heterogeneous anxiety disorders (N = 223) were randomly assigned to the UP, SDP or waitlist.

Evaluating transdiagnostic, evidence-based mental health care in a safety-net setting serving homeless individuals.

Homeless individuals experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population, though this group is less likely to receive evidence-based psychological treatment for these difficulties. One explanation for this science-to-service gap may be that most empirically supported interventions are designed to address a single disorder, which may not map on to the substantial comorbidity present in safety-net samples, and create a high training burden for often underresourced clinicians who must learn multiple protocols to address the needs of their patients. One solution may be to prioritize the dissemination of transdiagnostic interventions that can reduce therapist burden and simultaneously address comorbid conditions.