Strengths use, the engagement of positive character traits in everyday contexts, is associated with both positive functioning and symptom reduction. The present study examined longitudinal relationships between strengths use and emotional disorder symptoms (anxiety, stress, and depression) during a randomized clinical trial of the Digital Unified Protocol, a transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy. Participants (N = 120) completed assessments at four major time points during treatment and at 3-month follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBefore the development of the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), evidence-based treatment options for commonly co-occurring anxiety, mood, and related disorders consisted of numerous single-disorder protocols that shared many similarities, reflecting the overlap among these disorders themselves. The UP distilled common elements of cognitive behavioral protocols into a unified intervention directly targeting core temperamental features underlying these disorders of emotion, namely neuroticism and associated emotion dysregulation. The UP has since become a leading "transdiagnostic" treatment for emotional disorders, which is now available in several formats (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is preliminary evidence that the anticonvulsant medication Zonisamide (ZON) may be an effective, well-tolerated treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, further evaluation of its efficacy for treating patients with AUD is needed, and much remains unknown about ZON's therapeutic mechanisms. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ZON in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study expands on the growing body of research on the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on positive affect. More specifically, we explore how CBT may promote increases in the Joviality subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form (PANAS-X), a measure of self-rated affect that captures positive emotions, including joy and excitement, and how change in joviality may be associated with concurrent symptom change. We utilized data from a randomized equivalence trial comparing the efficacy of the unified protocol (UP) for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders, a transdiagnostic CBT, against various well-established single disorder protocols (SDP) and waitlist control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
May 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the social distancing practices that followed, have been associated with increased prevalence of emotional disorders. However, not all individuals affected by COVID-19-related social distancing experienced elevations in emotional disorder symptoms. Understanding this phenomenon is of crucial public health significance given the burden of emotional disorders on individuals and systems.
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