Perinatal mental e-health: What is the profile of pregnant women interested in online assessment of their emotional state?

AIM: This study explores the profile of pregnant women interested in the online assessment of their emotional status according to their sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics, history of psychopathology, and healthcare setting used (private vs. public). DESIGN: This is a comparative and descriptive cross-sectional study. METHOD: Participants were 281 Spanish pregnant women assessed with the MamáFeliz (HappyMom) website. RESULTS: Participants were probably to be unemployed, in a relationship, and generally had a high educational level and an intermediate economic status. Most of them were primiparous, had non-complicated natural pregnancies and presented healthy habits and good physical and emotional health, despite 31.3% of them had a history of psychological treatment. Our results reveal the profile of women interested in the online assessment of their emotional status, which can contribute to improving future initiatives to facilitate rapid screenings of perinatal mental health by nurses in both public and private settings.

Prevention of Emotional Disorders and Symptoms Under Health Conditions: A Pilot Study using the Unified Protocol in a Fertility Unit

Los trastornos emocionales (TE) son frecuentes durante los tratamientos de fertilidad. El Protocolo Unificado (PU) es una intervención transdiagnóstica que ha demostrado su eficacia en la prevención de TE en condiciones médicas. El objetivo de este estudio piloto es:1) mejorar la disregulación emocional para prevenir síntomas ansiosos y depresivos en mujeres en tratamiento de inseminación artificial (IA); 2) evaluar la acepta-bilidad (satisfacción y adherencia). Método: 5 mujeres en tratamiento de IA, sin diagnóstico clínico, respondieron a medidas de estado de ánimo (ansiedad y depresión),afecto,calidad de vida y regulación emocional en el pre-y post-evaluación, y en los seguimientos a los 1, 3 y 6 meses. La adap-tación preventiva del PU se basó en la aplicación de 6 sesiones presenciales grupales de 2 horas de duración. La situación generada por la COVID-19 provocó el cambio al formato online para finalizar el programa. Resultados: las mujeres no desarrollaron TE, no se encontraron diferencias pre-post y pre-seguimientos estadísticamente significativas en ansiedad, depresión, ca-lidad de vida y disregulación emocional (p>.050). Se observa una tenden-cia a la mejoría en la evaluación post-programa. Conclusiones: Parece que programas como el PU, centrado en factores terapéuticos compartidos, ha tenido un efecto emocional preventivo durante IA.(AU)

Emotional Disorders (EDs) are common in women who under-go fertility treatments. The Unified Protocol (UP) is a transdiagnostic in-tervention that has demonstrated efficacy in preventing EDs under differ-ent health conditions. The aim of this pilot study is to: 1) improve emo-tional dysregulation for the prevention of anxiety and depressive symp-toms in women undergoing intrauterine inseminations (IUI); 2) assess their acceptability (e.g., satisfaction and adherence rates). Method: Five women undergoing IUI, with no clinical diagnoses, responded to measures of mood (anxiety and depression), affect, quality of life and emotional dysregulation in the pre-and post-assessments, and at the 1-, 3-and 6-month follow-ups. The UP was adapted to be applied during six face-to-face group sessions lasting 2 h. The COVID-19 pandemic situation im-plied changing to an online format to end the program. Results: The re-sults showed that women did not develop EDs, and no statistically signifi-cant pre-post and pre-follow-up differences werefound for anxiety, de-pression,quality of life and emotional dysregulation (all p>.050). A ten-dency towards improvement in the post-assessment evaluation was noted. Satisfaction with the format and UP program was high. Conclusions: It would seem that programs focusing on therapeutic common factors like the UP could have an emotional preventive effect during IUI.(AU)

[Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments for Adults: A Selective Review]

Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments for Adults: A Selective Review. BACKGROUND: Psychological treatments have shown their efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency in dealing with mental disorders. However, considering the scientific knowledge generated in recent years, in the Spanish context, there are no updating studies about empirically supported psychological treatments. The main goal was to carry out a selective review of the main empirically supported psychological treatments for mental disorders in adults. METHOD: Levels of evidence and degrees of recommendation were collected based on the criteria proposed by the Spanish National Health System (Clinical Practice Guidelines) for different psychological disorders. RESULTS: The results indicate that psychological treatments have empirical support for the approach to a wide range of psychological disorders. These levels of empirical evidence gathered range from low to high depending on the psychological disorder analysed. The review indicates the existence of certain fields of intervention that need further investigation. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this selective review, psychology professionals will be able to have rigorous, up-to-date information that allows them to make informed decisions when implementing empirically based psychotherapeutic procedures based on the characteristics of the people who require help.

Efficacy of the unified protocol for the treatment of emotional disorders in the Spanish public mental health system using a group format: study protocol for a multicenter, randomized, non-inferiority controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Emotional disorders, which include both anxiety and depressive disorders, are the most prevalent psychological disorders according to recent epidemiological studies. Consequently, public costs associated with their treatment have become a matter of concern for public health systems, which face long waiting lists. Because of their high prevalence in the population, finding an effective treatment for emotional disorders has become a key goal of today's clinical psychology. The Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders might serve the aforementioned purpose, as it can be applied to a variety of disorders simultaneously and it can be easily performed in a group format. METHODS: The study is a multicenter, randomized, non-inferiority controlled clinical trial. Participants will be 220 individuals with emotional disorders, who are randomized to either a treatment as usual (individual cognitive behavioral therapy) or to a Unified Protocol condition in group format. Depression, anxiety, and diagnostic criteria are the primary outcome measures. Secondary measures include the assessment of positive and negative affect, anxiety control, personality traits, overall adjustment, and quality of life. An analysis of treatment satisfaction is also conducted. Assessment points include baseline, post-treatment, and three follow-ups at 3, 6, and 12 months. To control for missing data and possible biases, intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses will be performed. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic intervention in a group format for the treatment of emotional disorders in public settings in Spain. Results obtained from this study may have important clinical, social, and economic implications for public mental health settings in Spain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ . Trial NCT03064477 (March 10, 2017). The trial is active and recruitment is ongoing. Recruitment is expected to finish by January 2020.