Study of a Transdiagnostic, Emotion-focused Group Intervention for Young Adults With Substance Use Disorders
Condition: Substance Use Disorders; Depression; Anxiety; Emotional Disorder; Suicidal Ideation; Suicidal and Self-injurious Behavior
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders; Depression; Suicidal Ideation; Self-Injurious Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The overall aim of this pilot study is to conduct a preliminary trial to evaluate the
      acceptability and feasibility of adding a transdiagnostic, emotion-focused group intervention
      (the Unified Protocol, UP) to treatment as usual (TAU) in a comprehensive outpatient program
      for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders and emotional distress. Only
      patients seeking services or engaged in care at an existing outpatient program at MGH (the
      Addiction Recovery Management Service) are eligible for participation.
    

Detailed description: 
      Young adults with substance use disorder (SUD) commonly experience co-occurring emotional
      distress in the form of affective/emotional disorders (i.e. anxiety, depressive, and related
      disorders) and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs). Based on the conceptualization
      of emotion dysregulation as a transdiagnostic treatment target, the current study utilizes
      the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) to target core
      psychopathological processes related to emotion dysregulation that underlie SITBs and
      emotional disorder pathology. Given its transdiagnostic format, the UP has the potential to
      address comorbidity among the emotional disorders (and other functionally similar problems
      such as SUDs) simultaneously and more comprehensively than single-diagnosis treatments.

      Patients seeking services or currently engaged in care at an existing comprehensive
      outpatient program for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders (the MGH
      Addiction Recovery Management Service) are eligible for this study. Participants will be
      randomized 2:1 to receive either UP + TAU or TAU alone. The adjunctive UP intervention
      consists of 16 twice-weekly group sessions (delivered over an 8-week period) designed to
      deliver transdiagnostic, emotion-focused CBT strategies.
    

Intervention name(s): Unified Protocol (UP); Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Other
Intervention description(s): The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) is an evidence-based psychological intervention designed to be applied across anxiety, depressive, and other disorders in which emotion dysregulation is central. The UP targets shared temperamental vulnerabilities to emotional disorders through emotion-focused CBT strategies.; Treatment as Usual consists of some combination of group therapy, individual therapy, and/or psychopharmacology appointments at an existing comprehensive outpatient program for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: transdiagnostic treatment; cognitive-behavioral therapy; Unified Protocol; young adults; substance use disorder; emotional disorder; depression; anxiety; emotion dysregulation; self-injurious thoughts and behaviors