Effectiveness of a unified protocol on emotion regulation and experiential avoidance in women with comorbid major depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms

Emotion dysregulation is one of the important underlying factors in the development and maintenance of mood and anxiety symptoms and it can reduce therapeutic effectiveness significantly. The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic group treatment for emotional disorders in women with comorbid generalized anxiety and major depressive symptoms.

The participants of this study consisted of 35 women with symptoms for generalized anxiety and depression among who referred to the Specialized Polyclinic of Psychological and Counseling Services of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad city. They divided randomly into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received twelve sessions of two-hour group treatment, based on the Unified Protocol for transdiagnostic disorders, while the control group did not receive any treatment. Research instrument included semi-structural clinical interview, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire. Data analyzed through ANCOVA, MANCOVA using SPSS-22 statistical software.

The transdiagnostic group treatment significantly alleviated the symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression (P<0.05), and significantly improved emotional regulation strategies and experiential avoidance (P<0.05)

It seems that Unified Protocol (UP) transdiagnostic group treatment, which addresses the common underlying factors of emotional disorders, may be an effective therapeutic strategy for individuals with emotional comorbid disorders, and contribute to reducing maladaptive emotion regulation strategies.