Gaskell, C., Hague, B. and Kellett, S. (2021) Effectiveness of the unified protocol for treating co-morbid health anxiety and depression : an empirical case study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 49 (6). pp. 673-683. ISSN 1352-4658
Abstract
Aims:
The unified protocol (UP) is indicated when patients present with co-morbidity, but no studies have previously investigated the effectiveness of the UP with co-morbid health anxiety and depression.
Method:
An A/B single case design evaluated outcomes for a 27-year-old male presenting with health anxiety and co-morbid depression. Following a 21-day assessment-baseline period containing three sessions, the manualised UP was delivered across a 42-day period containing seven intervention sessions. Four idiographic measures (occurrence and duration of health checking, sleep duration and food intake satisfaction) were collected daily throughout, and two nomothetic measures were collected at four time points.
Results:
All sessions were attended. Number of health checking episodes reduced from four per day to two per day. A 59 minute per day reduction in time spent health checking occurred, and sleep increased by 100 minutes per night. There was little apparent change in terms of food intake satisfaction. There was a reliable and clinically significant reduction in depression.
Discussion:
Further testing of the effectiveness of the UP with co-morbid health anxiety and depression in true single case experimental designs is now indicated.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | depression; health anxiety; single case experimental design; therapy outcome |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jun 2021 07:42 |
Last Modified: | 01 Mar 2022 14:03 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S1352465821000205 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174906 |