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Dental anxiety is common and associated with negative outcomes. According to information-processing models, anxiety is maintained by maladaptive patterns of processing threatening information. Furthermore, attention training interventions can reduce anxiety in one session. Fifty-three individuals with high levels of dental anxiety completed a Posner reaction-time task. Participants were randomized to attention training or control using a dot-probe task, and then attentional bias was remeasured using another Posner task. Participants then completed a script-driven imaginal exposure task. Results indicated that individuals high in dental anxiety exhibit threat-relevant attentional bias. There was mixed evidence about the efficacy of attention training. On the one hand, training did not eliminate attentional bias and training condition did not predict distress during the imagery task. On the other hand, cue dependency scores in the control group were higher for dental than neutral cues, but did not differ in the training group. In addition, cue dependency scores for both dental and neutral cues predicted subjective anxiety in anticipation of the imagery task. The mixed results of training are considered in terms of the possibility that it enhanced attentional control, rather than reducing bias., (Copyright © 2020 Siev, Behar and Fortune.)

Objective: The aim of this study is to conduct a preliminary examination of long-term outcomes on a broad range of affective disorder symptoms treated with a newly developed intervention: The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP)., Method: Maintenance of treatment gains at long-term follow-up (LTFU) were explored in patients (N=15, mean age=32.27; 60% female) who completed a clinical trial of the UP., Results: Treatment gains observed at 6-month follow-up (6MFU) on measures of clinical severity, general symptoms of depression and anxiety, and a measure of symptom interference in daily functioning were largely maintained 12months later (at an average of 18months posttreatment), and any significant changes from 6MFU to LTFU reflected small increases in symptoms that remained, on average, in the subclinical range., Conclusions: These findings provide the first initial support for the durability of broad treatment gains following transdiagnostic treatment., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recent findings support the relevance of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and interoceptive exposure (IE) across emotional disorders. This study (a) evaluated levels of AS across different anxiety disorders, (b) examined change in AS over the course of transdiagnostic psychological intervention, and its relationship with outcome, and (c) described the implementation of IE to address AS with patients with different anxiety disorders. Participants (N=54) were patients who received treatment with the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) in two consecutive treatment trials. Participants completed a measure of AS at pre- and posttreatment, and multiple occasions during treatment. Symptom severity was assessed at pre- and posttreatment, and clinical information related to physical symptoms and IE were collected as part of routine clinical practice. Elevated AS was observed at pretreatment across diagnoses and decreases in AS were observed from pre- to posttreatment. Similar changes occurred across the diagnostic categories, notably coinciding with the introduction of IE. Change in AS was correlated with reduced symptom levels at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. Patients with different anxiety disorders endorsed similar physical symptoms and practiced similar IE exercises with similar effects. Results provide preliminary support for the usefulness of IE as a treatment strategy across the spectrum of anxiety disorders, and additional support for the transdiagnostic relevance of AS., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)