A randomized clinical trial of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic treatment of emotional and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: evaluating efficacy and mechanism of change

Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Medical Conditions: A Systematic Review

“…Of the nine research studies included in the systematic review, only one was a prevention study [ 43 ], while the rest were treatment studies. Most were published in the USA ( n = 4) [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] and Iran ( n = 4) [ 40 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], while the remaining study was published in Sweden [ 50 ], between 2012 and 2020. The sample size of the different research works ranged from 2 to 70 participants.…”

“…In relation to the sample’s genders, three studies included only women [ 43 , 47 , 48 ] and one included an exclusively male sample [ 45 ]. Of the remaining five [ 40 , 44 , 46 , 49 , 50 ], the proportion of participants was mostly women, 60% versus 40%.…”

“…In design terms, two were pilot studies done with a single group [ 43 , 45 ], two were a single-case experimental design [ 46 , 50 ], one was a case study [ 44 ], and four were RCTs [ 40 , 47 , 48 , 49 ]. In the RCTs, the control condition was a waiting list in one [ 40 ], in which they received usual pharmacological treatment, as well as information about the medical condition, and an active condition in the remaining three research studies. The three active control conditions were a mindfulness-based psychological intervention (MBSR) [ 47 ] and two psychosocial interventions: psycho-educational and supportive [ 48 , 49 ].…”

“…Regarding UP’s efficacy to treat EDs, or anxious and depressive symptoms that are comorbid to medical conditions, we are beginning to find studies with encouraging results [ 39 ]. By way of example, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with irritable bowel syndrome patients reported a significant decrease in not only depressive and anxious symptomatology, but also in postintervention stress levels [ 40 ].…”

Effectiveness of a transdiagnostic Internet-based protocol for the treatment of emotional disorders in public specialized mental health care

“…For instance, there is preliminary evidence suggesting the efficacy of the UP for anxiety and depression delivered in a group format (Bullis et al, 2015;Laposa, Mancuso, Abraham, & Loli-Dano, 2017), for comorbid bipolar disorders and anxiety (Ellard et al, 2017), and for the treatment of anxiety and depression in adolescents (Ehrenreich-May et al, 2017). Furthermore, cross-cultural studies with the UP have been carried out (de Ornelas Maia, 2015;Mohsenabadi, Zanjani, Shabani, & Arj, 2018), and ongoing randomized controlled trials are being conducted to study the efficacy of the UP, for example, in Spain and Japan . In summary, the literature on the UP suggests that a mechanistically transdiagnostic approach can be effective across categories of emotional disorders, outcome measures, delivery formats, and age groups.…”