Abstract
Evidence-based psychological treatments (EBPTs) for common mental health conditions are efficacious but remain underutilized in clinical service settings. Novel transdiagnostic and modular approaches that treat several disorders simultaneously promise to address common barriers to the dissemination and implementation of traditional EBPTs. Despite the promise that transdiagnostic treatments hold, the claims that these interventions can be more easily disseminated and implemented have not been widely tested. The present study examined whether a transdiagnostic treatment, the Unified Protocol (UP), addresses some barriers to dissemination and implementation for clinicians. Exploratory aims of the current study were to examine the effects of a UP introductory training workshop on clinician attitudes and behaviors by: (1) evaluating UP knowledge and treatment delivery, (2) determining relationships between clinician characteristics and their knowledge acquisition, satisfaction with UP, and UP penetration, and (3) exploring clinicians’ perceptions of the UP’s characteristics utilizing mixed methods. Workshop participants showed a good understanding of UP treatment concepts following training, and over a third of survey respondents reported use of the intervention 6-months after training. Positive attitudes toward EBPTs and fewer years of clinical practice were associated with greater satisfaction with the UP. Clinicians held positive views of the UP’s flexibility and relative advantage over standard EBPTs but held negative views toward the manual’s design and packaging. Overall, our findings suggest that clinicians may view transdiagnostic treatments such as the UP favorably and may consider them appealing over standard EBPTs. However, barriers associated with traditional EBPTs may extend to transdiagnostic treatments like the UP.
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Funding
This research study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The first author (Dr. Ametaj) was supported by NIMH T32MH17119-33 during parts of drafting this manuscript. Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala receives royalties for the Unified Protocol Patient Workbook and Therapist Guides.
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All procedures were approved by the Boston University Institutional Review Board and research with human subjects was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Workshop study participant received an email invitation and a link to the survey that included an opportunity to indicate consent if they chose to participate in the study. Workshop participants who were approached for participation in interviews were given an information sheet about the study, and those who engaged in interviews provided verbal consent.
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Ametaj, A.A., Wilner Tirpak, J., Cassiello-Robbins, C. et al. A Preliminary Investigation of Provider Attitudes Toward a Transdiagnostic Treatment: Outcomes from Training Workshops with the Unified Protocol. Adm Policy Ment Health 48, 668–682 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01101-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01101-7