Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children

This research aimed to evaluate if a transdiagnostic treatment, which targets multiple types of diagnoses or problem areas in a single intervention, is an effective means of treating anxiety disorders in children, as well as any comorbidities the children might have. The idea behind transdiagnostic treatment is that rather than using different treatments to address symptoms of different diagnoses — anxiety and depression, for example — we can use the same treatment to address the core processes maintaining each of these problem areas at once.

In this study, Sarah Kennedy, PhD, a clinical psychologist in our Pediatric Mental Health Institute, led a randomized trial testing a transdiagnostic treatment against a treatment specific to anxiety disorders. The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C) did just as well at treating anxiety symptoms as the treatment specifically for anxiety. The study also showed that children receiving the transdiagnostic treatment had a more linear change in depression symptoms and made more gains in several different areas of emotion regulation, including emotion dysregulation and cognitive reappraisal. These results show preliminary evidence that the UP-C may be at least as effective in treating anxiety as well-supported anxiety-specific treatment protocols, may have some greater benefits for addressing depression symptoms and may produce greater gains in certain areas of emotion regulation.