Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,948 studies31 sourcesUpdated 41 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDBMC psychology

Development and preliminary evaluation of a group adaptation of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in adolescents (UP-A) in a Spanish public mental health center.

  • Lucía Cortés1
  • Julia García-Escalera2
  • Irene Casanova3
  • Alberto Segura3
  • Rosa M Valiente1
  • Paloma Chorot1
  1. 1Faculty of Psychology, National University of Distance Education (UNED), Calle Juan del Rosal, 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain.
  2. 2Faculty of Psychology, National University of Distance Education (UNED), Calle Juan del Rosal, 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain. [email protected].
  3. 3Majadahonda's Mental Health Center, Calle Costa Rica, 1, Madrid, 28221, Spain.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Background

Anxiety and depression frequently co-occur during adolescence. The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Adolescents (UP-A) targets shared emotional mechanisms and has shown promise in individual formats. This study adapted the UP-A to a group format and evaluated its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness in a public outpatient mental health setting in Spain.Methods

Thirty-one adolescents (M = 14.03; 87.1% female) participated in a 16-session group intervention, which included 3 group sessions for parents.Results

A total of 80.65% of participants completed the treatment. Adolescents and parents reported high satisfaction and therapeutic alliance. Significant improvements were observed in adolescent-reported emotional symptoms and emotion regulation strategies, along with parent-reported reductions in depressive symptoms. Clinician ratings indicated reduced diagnostic severity and improved functioning.Conclusions

These findings suggest that the group-based UP-A is feasible, well accepted, and associated with clinical improvement in public mental health care. Further randomized studies are needed to confirm these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER (CLINICALTRIALS.GOV): NCT06894368. Date of registration: March 12, 2025 (retrospectively registered).

Related

  1. Turkish Adaptation and Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of the Mirror Image Comfort and Avoidance Scale (MICAS) in University Students
    Gamze Aktaş Kırat, Meserret Aslan, Fadime Bayrı Bingöl
    Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textEurope PMC
  2. Adolescents' Perspectives on Uptake, Engagement, and Implementation to Inform the Development of a Preventive Transdiagnostic Digital Mental Health Intervention: Qualitative Interview Study.
    Anja Hirsig, Noemi Walder, Xenia Anna Häfeli +1
    Journal of medical Internet researchPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEurope PMCPMC
  3. Cross-cultural adaptation and initial psychometric evaluation of the fruit and vegetable self-efficacy scales among secondary school adolescents in Selangor, Malaysia
    Zanariah Zaini, Nursyazwani Jabir, Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin +2
    Frontiers in public healthPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEpidemiology & public healthEurope PMC
  4. Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Pharmacogenetic Panel for Risk Stratification of Liver Injury in Polypharmacy
    BiomedicinesPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  5. Multimodal Feedback-Enhanced Soft Hand Rehabilitation Robot: System Development and Preliminary Clinical Evaluation
    Jianwei Lai, Aiguo Song, Xuemei Fan +3
    Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{cortes2026development,
  title = {{Development and preliminary evaluation of a group adaptation of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in adolescents (UP-A) in a Spanish public mental health center.}},
  author = {Lucía Cortés and Julia García-Escalera and Irene Casanova and Alberto Segura and Rosa M Valiente and Paloma Chorot},
  journal = {BMC psychology},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1186/s40359-026-05472-8},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850649},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Development and preliminary evaluation of a group adaptation of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in adolescents (UP-A) in a Spanish public mental health center.
AU  - Lucía Cortés
AU  - Julia García-Escalera
AU  - Irene Casanova
AU  - Alberto Segura
AU  - Rosa M Valiente
AU  - Paloma Chorot
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/16
JO  - BMC psychology
DO  - 10.1186/s40359-026-05472-8
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850649
AB  - Background  Anxiety and depression frequently co-occur during adolescence. The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Adolescents (UP-A) targets shared emotional mechanisms and has shown promise in individual formats. This study adapted the UP-A to a group format and evaluated its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness in a public outpatient mental health setting in Spain.Methods  Thirty-one adolescents (M = 14.03; 87.1% female) participated in a 16-session group intervention, which included 3 group sessions for parents.Results  A total of 80.65% of participants completed the treatment. Adolescents and parents reported high satisfaction and therapeutic alliance. Significant improvements were observed in adolescent-reported emotional symptoms and emotion regulation strategies, along with parent-reported reductions in depressive symptoms. Clinician ratings indicated reduced diagnostic severity and improved functioning.Conclusions  These findings suggest that the group-based UP-A is feasible, well accepted, and associated with clinical improvement in public mental health care. Further randomized studies are needed to confirm these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER (CLINICALTRIALS.GOV): NCT06894368. Date of registration: March 12, 2025 (retrospectively registered).
SN  - 2050-7283
ER  -