Research

The Unified Protocol Institute maintains a close relationship with researchers evaluating and improving this treatment.

We collaborate with researchers all over the world to see how they are using the UP and what they are learning. We share these scientific advances with trainees and patients.

Research Support for the UP

Since its development, the Unified Protocol has been rigorously tested in a wide range of patients seeking treatment for anxiety, depression, and related disorders. The results reveal that the majority of patients no longer met criteria for their presenting conditions when treated with the UP and continued to improve during the 6-month follow-up period. The UP has been adapted for a wide range of treatment settings. At the bottom of this page is a selection of articles on the UP published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Collaboration with Boston University

The UP was developed at Boston University in the lab led by Dr. David H. Barlow’s lab (the Trend UP lab). This lab continues to conduct research about the treatment. Our leadership team trained in this lab, as did many of our trainers. The Unified Protocol Institute maintains a close connection with BU in order to stay up to date on research developments. This lab is now led by Dr. Todd Farchione.

Todd J. Farchione, Ph.D., Director of Unified Protocol Research Programs

Todd J. Farchione completed his undergraduate work at Wayne State University and received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001. Dr. Todd Farchione is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University (BU). For over fifteen years, he has been a member of the clinical research group at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at BU (CARD). Dr. Farchione's research is focused on understanding emotion regulation processes, identifying mechanisms of change in treatment, and on developing new preventative measures and improved treatments for emotional disorders. Dr. Farchione is one of the co-developers of the UP and has collaborated with Dr. David Barlow and others on several research studies aimed at the development and evaluation of that treatment protocol. 

Selected Publications

Ametaj, A. A., Tirpak, J. W., Cassiello-Robbins, C., Snow, R., Rassaby, M. M., Beer, K., & Sauer-Zavala, S. (2021). A Preliminary Investigation of Provider Attitudes Toward a Transdiagnostic Treatment: Outcomes from Training Workshops with the Unified Protocol. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 48(4), 668-682.

Barlow, D.H., Ellard, K.K., Fairholme, C.P., Farchione, T.J., Boisseau, C.L. Allen, L.B. & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2011). The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: Client workbook. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Barlow, D. H., Ellard, K. K., Sauer-Zavala, S., Bullis, J. R., & Carl, J. R. (2014). The Origins of Neuroticism. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(5), 481–496.

Barlow, D.H., Farchione, T.J., Fairholme, C.P., Ellard, K.K., Boisseau, C.L. Allen, L.B. & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2011). The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: Therapist guide. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Barlow, D. H., Harris, B. A., Eustis, E. H., & Farchione, T. J. (2020) The Unified Protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders (UP). Invited article, World Psychiatry, 19(2), 245-246.

Barlow, D.H., Sauer-Zavala, S., Carl, J.R., Bullis, J.R., & Ellard, K.K. (2014). The nature, diagnosis, and treatment of neuroticism: Back to the future. Clinical Psychological Science, 2(3), 344-365

Boisseau, C. L., Farchione, T., Fairholme, C. P., Ellard, K. E., & Barlow, D. H. (2010). The development of the unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: A case study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 17(1), 102-113.

Boswell, J. F. (2013). Intervention strategies and clinical process in transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy, 50(3), 381.

Boswell, J. F., Sauer, S.E., Gallagher, M. W., Delgado, N., Barlow, D.H. (2012). Readiness to change as a moderator of outcome in transdiagnostic treatment. Psychotherapy Research, 22, 570-578.

Bullis, J. R., Sauer-Zavala, S., Bentley, K. H., Thompson-Hollands, J., Carl, J. R., & Barlow, D. H. (2015). The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: preliminary exploration of effectiveness for group delivery. Behavior modification, 39(2), 295–321.

Cassiello-Robbins, C., Southward, M. W., Tirpak, J. W., & Sauer-Zavala, S. (2020). A systematic review of Unified Protocol applications with adult populations: Facilitating widespread dissemination via adaptability. Clinical Psychology Review, 78, 101852.

Ellard, K. K., Fairholme, C. P., Boisseau, C. L., Farchione, T., & Barlow, D. H. (2010). Unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: Protocol development and initial outcome data. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 17(1), 88-101.

Ellard, K.K., Deckersbach, T., Sylvia, L.G., Nierenberg, A. A., & Barlow, D.H. (2012). Transdiagnostic treatment of bipolar disorder and comorbid anxiety with the Unified Protocol: A clinical replication series. Behavior Modification, 36, 482-508.

Eustis, E. H., Gallagher, M. W., Tirpak, J. W., Nauphal, M., Farchione, T. J., & Barlow, D. H. (2020). The Unified Protocol compared with diagnosis-specific protocols for anxiety disorders: 12-month follow-up from a randomized clinical trial. General Hospital Psychiatry, 67, 58–61.

Fairholme, C. P., Boisseau, C. L., Ellard, K. K., Ehrenreich, J. T., & Barlow, D. H. (2010). Emotions, emotion regulation, and psychological treatment: A unified perspective. In A. M. Kring & D. M. Sloan (Eds.), Emotion regulation and psychopathology: A transdiagnostic approach to etiology and treatment. (pp. 283-309). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.

Farchione, T.J., Boisseau, C.L., Ellard, K.K., Fairholme, C.P., & Barlow, D.H. (2009). Development of a transdiagnostic unified psychosocial treatment for emotional disorders. Psychiatric Times, 26 (7).

Farchione, T.J., Fairholme, C.P., Ellard, K.K., Boisseau, C.L., Thompson-Hollands, J., Carl J.R., Gallagher, M.W., Barlow, D.H. (2012). The unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 3, 666-678.

Farchione, T. J., & Bullis, J. R. (2014). Addressing the Global Burden of Mental Illness: Why Transdiagnostic and Common Elements Approaches to Evidence-Based Practice Might Be Our Best Bet. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 21(2), 124-126.

Gallagher, M. W., Sauer-Zavala, S. E., Carl, J. R., Bullis, J. R., Farchione, T. J., & Barlow, D. H. (2013). The impact of the unified protocol for emotional disorders on quality of life. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 6 (1), 57-72.

Gallagher, M. W., Naragon-Gainey, K., & Brown, T. A. (2014). Perceived control is a transdiagnostic predictor of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy outcome for anxiety disorders. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 38, 10–22. doi:10.1007/s10608-013-9587-3

McHugh, R. K., & Barlow, D. H. (2010). Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments: A review of current efforts. American Psychologist, 65, 73-84. PMID: 20141263.

McHugh, R. K., & Barlow, D. H. (Eds.). (in press). Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions. New York: Oxford University Press.

Payne, L. A., Ellard, K. K., Farchione, T.J., Fairholme, C. P., & Barlow, D. H. (2014). Emotional disorders: A unified transdiagnostic protocol. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Sauer-Zavala, S., Ametaj, A. A., Wilner, J. G., Bentley, K. H., Marquez, S., Patrick, K. A., ... & Marques, L. (2019). Evaluating transdiagnostic, evidence-based mental health care in a safety-net setting serving homeless individuals. Psychotherapy, 56(1), 100.

Sauer-Zavala, S. & Barlow (2014). The case for borderline personality disorder as an emotional disorder: Implications for treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice.

Sauer-Zavala, S., Bentley, K. H., & Wilner, J. G. (2016). Transdiagnostic Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and Comorbid Disorders: A Clinical Replication Series. Journal of personality disorders, 30(1), 35–51.

Sauer-Zavala, S.E., Boswell, J.F., Gallagher, M. W., Bentley, K. H., Ametaj, A., & Barlow, D. H. (2012). The role of negative affectivity and negative reactivity to emotions in predicting outcomes in the unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50, 551-557.

Sauer-Zavala, S., Tirpak, J. W., Eustis, E. H., Woods, B. K., & Russell, K. (2021). Unified protocol for the transdiagnostic prevention of emotional disorders: Evaluation of a brief, online course for college freshmen. Behavior Therapy, 52(1), 64-76.

Thompson-Hollands, J., Bentley, K. H., Gallagher, M. W., Boswell, J. F., & Barlow, D. H. (2014). Credibility and Outcome Expectancy in the Unified Protocol: Relationship To Outcomes. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 5(1), 72-82.

Wilamowska, Z.A., Thompson-Hollands, J., Fairholme, C.P., Ellard, K.K., Farchione, T.J., & Barlow, D.H. (2010). Conceptual background, development, and preliminary data from the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 882-890. PMID: 20886609.