Upregulating Positive Affectivity in the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders: A Randomized Pilot Study

Transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for emotional disorders (ED) has proven to be effective. However, current transdiagnostic treatment protocols address only the regulation of negative affectivity, and they do not include treatment components to more directly target the regulation of positive affectivity. In this study, we propose to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of a transdiagnostic treatment protocol for ED that includes, as an innovative feature, a specific treatment component to directly upregulate positive affectivity based on positive psychology interventions. A total of 24 participants were randomized to either a transdiagnostic treatment protocol (n = 12) or a transdiagnostic treatment protocol with an additional component designed to regulate positive affectivity (n = 12). Participants completed measures of anxiety, depression, positive and negative affectivity, and quality of life, as well as treatment acceptability at pre- and posttreatment and at the 3-month follow-up. Both interventions led to improvements in all measures at posttreatment, and these outcomes were maintained at the 3-month follow-up, with large effect sizes for all measures. The effect sizes for positive affect were larger in the condition that included the component to upregulate positive affectivity. Attrition rate was low, and both treatment protocols were well accepted by participants. The results obtained in this study indicate the feasibility of testing the treatment protocol in a larger, randomized, controlled trial, and they suggest the potential of including treatment components for directly upregulating positive affectivity in future research on transdiagnostic treatment protocols for ED

Users’ Opinion About a Virtual Reality System as an Adjunct to Psychological Treatment for Stress-Related Disorders: A Quantitative and Qualitative Mixed-Methods Study

This study aims to explore patients’ and therapists’ attitudes about the psychological treatment they received (patients) or applied (therapists). The treatments were standard CBT protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complicated grief (CG), or adjustment disorders (ADs), depending on each patient diagnosis. The treatments were delivered following a traditional format or supported by a virtual reality (VR) system “EMMA’s WORLD” designed for the treatment of stress-related disorders. “EMMA’s WORLD” is a VR application in which patients can explore negative experiences using different virtual elements that can be customized to make them more meaningful to the user. The sample was composed of two groups: the “professionals” ( N = 10) were all clinical psychologists who applied the same psychological treatment in both the traditional format (“traditional condition”) and using the VR system (“ EMMA” condition). The second group consisted of a sample of patients ( N = 50) who met the criteria for at least one of three different diagnoses: PTSD ( N = 15), CG ( N = 15), or AD ( N = 20). 25 patients received treatment in the traditional format and 25 supported by the VR system. The patients were asked about their expectations (before treatment) and satisfaction (after treatment) with the treatment they received. All the therapists were asked their opinions about both treatment conditions. A mixed-methods approach using quantitative and qualitative methodologies was used. In both conditions, high scores were observed, and the patient’s opinions were even better when they have already received the treatments. A more pronounced pre-test–post-test change in the EMMA therapy group than in the traditional group was observed. EMMA’s World was well- accepted by both patients and therapists, and it helped to foster motivation in patients, while helping the therapist to apply the treatment. Thus, VR can be useful as an adjunct tool to enhance the treatmen

Internet-Based Self-Help Program for the Treatment of Fear of Public Speaking: A Case Study.

This article discusses the development of the first totally self-administered online CBT program for the treatment of a specific social phobia (fear of public speaking) called talk to me. The online program includes three parts. The assessment protocol gives the patient information about the problem, including impairment, severity, and the degree of fear and avoidance regarding the main feared situations. The structured treatment protocol ensures that the patient does not skip any steps in the treatment. The treatment protocol is a CBT program that provides exposure to the feared situation using videos of real audiences. Finally, the control protocol assesses treatment efficacy, not only at posttreatment, but also at every intermediate step. In this work we describe talk to Me and its practical application through a case study

The buffer role of meaning in life in hopelessness in women with borderline personality disorders

Meaning in life has been found to be a protective factor against suicidal ideation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether meaning in life can moderate and buffer the association between suicide risk factors and hopelessness in women with borderline personality disorders. One hundred twenty-four women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder completed self-report measures of suicide risk factors, hopelessness, and meaning in life. The main result from this study was that meaning in life moderated the association between suicide risk factors and hopelessness. Meaning in life is an important variable in the prevention and treatment of risk of suicide in women with borderline personality disorder

Los tratamientos psicológicos basados en la evidencia

Lliçó inaugural del curs 2009-2010

Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change

While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32% say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that the impact of technologies on people well-being will be negligible compared to now (Pew Research Center, 2018)

Sistema Mayordomo: la puerta de entrada de nuestros mayores a las nuevas tecnologías

3rd International Conference on the Elderly and New Technologies. III Jornadas Internacionales de Mayores y Nuevas Tecnologías.The population distribution has changed and is set around an increasingly aging population. This population change coincides with the technological revolution taking place in the xxi century, which generates a digital divide that separates old people and empower feelings of isolation, loneliness and sadness. Our team has developed the Mayordomo System. Based on the principles of positive psychology, it’s main objective is to build a bridge between the technological reality of today and an older population that will continue to increase. The mayordomo System, through the use of new technologies, aims to facilitate the construction of protective psychological and social elements of a healthy quality of life. The system has been installed on two Senior Colleges of Valencia (Universitat de València and Universitat Jaume I), a nursing home and a day centre. The aim of this paper is to describe the experience of two users who used our system and analyze the effectiveness of the use of Mayordomo System upon their mood and satisfaction levels. The results show that users increased their mood and levels of satisfaction. Butler is a system that can contribute to improve the welfare of older people by facilitating the construction of protective psychological elements, such as increasing their social network and the development of leisure activities.La distribución demográfica ha cambiado y se configura alrededor de una población cada vez más envejecida. Este cambio poblacional coincide con la revolución tecnológica que se está produciendo en el siglo xxi, la cual genera una brecha digital que separa a las personas mayores y potencia sentimientos de aislamiento, soledad y tristeza. Nuestro equipo ha desarrollado el sistema Mayordomo. Basado en los principios de la psicología positiva, tiene como principal objetivo construir un puente entre la realidad tecnológica de hoy y una población mayor que seguirá en aumento. Mayordomo, a través del uso de las nuevas tecnologías, se dirige a facilitar la construcción de elementos psicológicos y sociales protectores de una calidad de vida saludable. El sistema Mayordomo ha sido instalado en dos universidades de mayores de la Comunidad Valenciana (Universitat de València y Universitat Jaume I), una residencia y un centro de día. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir la experiencia de dos usuarios que utilizaron nuestro sistema y analizar la eficacia de su uso sobre el estado de ánimo y los niveles de satisfacción obtenidos. Los resultados muestran que los usuarios incrementaron su estado de ánimo y niveles de satisfacción. Mayordomo es un sistema que puede contribuir a la mejora del bienestar de las personas mayores, facilitando la construcción de elementos psicológicos protectores, como es el incremento de su red social y el desarrollo de actividades placenteras

Detection and distraction effects for threatening information in social phobia and change after treatment

This work examines differences in the detection and distraction by social-threatrelated information between a social phobia group (SP; N533) and a normal control group (NC; N532). The change obtained after psychological treatment is also studied for the SP group. A paper-and-pencil visual search task is used, in which the emotional valence of the ‘‘target’’ (social threat, physical threat, and neutral words) and ‘‘distractor’’ (social threat, physical threat, neutral, and nonsense words) verbal stimuli is manipulated. Results indicate that there are no differences in the detection of social-threat targets between SP and NC participants. However, the performance of SP individuals is more impaired when distractor stimuli related to social threat are presented, regardless of the target valence. This increased distraction by social-threat-related stimuli is reduced after psychological treatment, and this decrease is maintained at 6-month follow-u

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy supported by virtual reality in the treatment of body image in eating disorders: One year follow-up

Postprint de l’autorBody image disturbance is a significant maintenance and prognosis factor in eating disorders. Hence,existing eating disorder treatments can benefit from direct intervention in patients’ body image. No controlled studies have yet compared eating disorder treatments with and without a treatment component centered on body image. This paper includes a controlled study comparing Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for eating disorders with and without a component for body image treatment using Virtual Reality techniques. Thirty-four participants diagnosed with eating disorders were evaluated and treated. The clinical improvement was analyzed from statistical and clinical points of view. Results showed that the patients who received the component for body image treatment improved more than the group without this component. Furthermore, improvement was maintained in post-treatment and at one year follow-up. The results reveal the advantage of including a treatment component addressing body image disturbances in the protocol for general treatment of eating disorders. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed below