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Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is frequently comorbid with bipolar disorder (BD), yet frontline pharmacological interventions for SAD are often contraindicated for individuals with BD. We present a case report of a 29-year-old male with Bipolar I Disorder who received cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD, followed by CBT and interpersonal therapy (IPT) for SAD. The patient completed standardized self-report measures of social anxiety and depressive symptoms throughout treatment and at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups. The greatest social anxiety symptom improvement occurred during the CBT phase, and the patient experienced small but additional benefit with the incorporation of IPT techniques. Although not a direct target of treatment, the patient’s depressive symptoms remained subthreshold throughout treatment. Finally, the patient reported significantly higher quality of life at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups, compared with a reference group of BD outpatients. Findings offer preliminary support for the integration of CBT and IPT in treating comorbid SAD among individuals with BD. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety and depressive disorders commonly co-occur during adolescence, share multiple vulnerability factors, and respond to similar psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. However, anxiety and depression may also be considered distinct constructs and differ on some underlying properties. Prior research efforts on evidence-based treatments for youth have been unable to examine the concurrent trajectories of primary anxiety and depressive concerns across the course of treatment. The advent of transdiagnostic approaches for these emotional disorders in youth allows for such examination. The present study examined the separate trajectories of adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms over the course of a transdiagnostic intervention, the Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Adolescence (UP-A; Ehrenreich et al., 2008), as well as up to six months following treatment. The sample included 59 adolescents ages 12-17 years old (M=15.42, SD=1.71) who completed at least eight sessions of the UP-A as part of an open trial or randomized, controlled trial across two treatment sites. Piecewise latent growth curve analyses found adolescent self-rated anxiety and depressive symptoms showed similar rates of improvement during treatment, but while anxiety symptoms continued to improve during follow-up, depressive symptoms showed non-significant improvement after treatment. Parent-rated symptoms also showed similar rates of improvement for anxiety and depression during the UP-A to those observed for adolescent self-report, but little improvement after treatment across either anxiety or depressive symptoms. To a certain degree, the results mirror those observed among other evidence-based treatments for youth with anxiety and depression, though results hold implications for future iterations of transdiagnostic treatments regarding optimization of outcomes for adolescents with depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial proportion of adolescents are non-responders to well-established treatments for anxiety and depression, and many existent approaches do not adequately address comorbidity. There is a need to develop and evaluate unified treatments for adolescents that flexibly address higher order factors shared among internalizing or emotional disorders. The Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Adolescents (UP-A) is a transdiagnostic treatment that targets shared vulnerability and maintenance factors in a flexible format. This study examined initial outcomes of a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial of the UP-A. The UP-A outperformed waitlist at mid-treatment with respect to disorder severity and functional impairment, and there was a significant treatment effect in favor of the UP-A on all outcome measures at post-treatment. Within-subjects analyses collapsing across participants revealed significant improvements on outcome measures over time. Results support further study of the UP-A and its potential efficacy in treating adolescent anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]