Skill Use Mediates the Within-Person Effect of the Alliance on Session-to-Session Changes in Anxiety and Depression in the Unified Protocol.

Objective: Both the therapeutic alliance and the specific skills taught in treatment are thought to contribute to change in cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), but it is unclear if or how these processes influence each other and outcomes in treatment. We tested the hypothesis that the degree to which patients used CBT skills would mediate the relation between the alliance and session-to-session changes in anxiety and depression.

Method: Adult participants ( = 70; = 33.

Within-person changes in aversive reactivity predict session-to-session reductions in anxiety and depression in the unified protocol.

The Unified Protocol (UP) theoretically leads to reductions in emotional disorder symptoms by reducing aversive reactions to emotions. However, aversive reactions can take many forms (e.g.

BPD compass: A randomized controlled trial of a short-term, personality-based treatment for borderline personality disorder.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogeneous condition that is particularly associated with three broad personality dimensions: neuroticism (i.e., high negative affectivity), agreeableness (i.

Conceptual development and case data for a modular, personality-based treatment for borderline personality disorder.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogenous condition, and variations in its presentation may be accounted for by individual differences in personality dimensions. Extant treatments for BPD are long term and intensive; it is possible that prioritizing the personality-based difficulties that underlie an individual's symptoms may improve the efficiency of care. This article describes the conceptual background for the development of a novel, personality-based intervention for BPD (BPD Compass), which was informed by recent research on personality mechanisms maintainin this condition, and was designed to address gaps left by existing treatments and to be maximally efficient and disseminable.