Group Version of the UP-A in a Spanish Public Mental Health Setting.

Anxiety and depression are among the most prevalent mental health disorders in adolescents, with growing concerns about their increasing incidence. Studies indicate that emotional disorders often co-occur due to shared transdiagnostic factors, such as poor emotion regulation, high negative affect, and cognitive avoidance. Given these shared mechanisms, transdiagnostic treatments like the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Adolescents (UP-A) have been developed to improve adaptive emotion regulation and reduce avoidance behaviors. While the UP-A has been primarily evaluated as an individual therapy, its adaptation to a group format could enhance accessibility and efficiency, particularly in public mental health settings. This study aims to adapt the Spanish version of the UP-A to a group format for adolescents with moderate emotional symptoms in a public mental health setting and assess its clinical utility and feasibility. The program is administered at a public mental health center in Madrid, with 31 adolescents (ages 11-17) diagnosed with emotional disorders. The intervention consists of 16 weekly sessions for adolescents, alongside three parental sessions. The program incorporates modifications such as individual sessions for defining personal treatment goals, structured peer support, and behavioral reinforcement strategies.