Treating depressive disorders with the unified protocol: a preliminary randomized evaluation
Date
2020-03-01
Authors
Sauer-Zavala, Shannon
Bentley, Kate Hagan
Steele, Stephanie Jarvi
Tirpak, Julianne Wilner
Ametaj, Amantia
Nauphal, Maya
Cardona, Nicole
Wang, Mengxing
Farchione, Todd J.
Barlow, David H.
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
Shannon Sauer-Zavala, Kate H. Bentley, Stephanie Jarvi Steele, Julianne Wilner Tirpak, Amantia A Ametaj, Maya Nauphal, Nicole Cardona, Mengxing Wang, Todd J. Farchione, David H. Barlow. 2020. "Treating depressive disorders with the Unified Protocol: A preliminary randomized evaluation.." J Affect Disord, Volume 264, pp. 438 - 445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.072
Abstract
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., 2017); inclusion criteria for the parent study required participants to have a principal anxiety disorder. RESULTS: Significant reductions in depressive symptoms were observed within the UP condition across clinician-rated and self-report measures of depression from baseline to post-treatment, as well as to the 12-month follow-up assessment. Compared to the WLC group, individuals in the UP condition demonstrated significantly lower levels on our continuous, clinician-rated measure of depressive symptoms at post-treatment. There were no differences between the UP and SDP conditions on depressive symptoms at post-treatment or at the 12-month follow-up timepoint. CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory set of analyses, the UP evidenced efficacy for reduction of depressive symptoms, adding to the growing support for its utility in treating depression.