Isolating the Unique Effects of the Unified Protocol Treatment Modules Using Single Case Experimental Design.
One standalone UP module can still build its target skill, so you can mix and match instead of running the full protocol.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shannon et al. (2017) tested bite-sized pieces of the Unified Protocol.
Eight adults each got just one module: psychoeducation, emotional awareness, cognitive flexibility, or countering emotional behaviors.
The team used a multiple-baseline design to see if single modules still taught the target skill.
What they found
Five of the eight adults made clear, measurable gains after only one module.
The skills stuck without needing the full eight-session package.
Modular delivery worked; you do not have to run the whole protocol to see change.
How this fits with other research
Sauer-Zavala et al. (2019) extends this idea. They let clients start with the module that matched their strongest skill and still saw fast gains.
Gray et al. (2026) and Jones et al. (1977) used the same multiple-baseline blueprint. Their brief BST packages also produced quick skill jumps, showing the design suits short trainings.
EGranieri et al. (2020) meta-analysis looked at autism social-skills modules. Tech or in-person, single modules still helped, lining up with the UP slice-and-teach pattern.
Why it matters
You can pick the UP module that fits your client today, run it, and move on. No need to wait for eight straight weeks. If a teen needs only cognitive flexibility, teach that piece and watch the data climb. Try it next session: choose one skill, baseline it, teach the matching UP module, and chart the change.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The Unified Protocol (UP) for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to treat the range of anxiety, depressive, and related disorders. Thus far, the UP treatment modules have only been studied when they are delivered in their entirety and presented in a standard sequence. To personalize the presentation of the UP modules for a given patient's presentation (e.g., providing the modules in a varied order, dropping irrelevant modules), it is first necessary to establish that each module leads to change in the skill it is designed to promote, and that these changes can occur in the absence of the other modules. Using a multiple baseline design in accordance with the single-case reporting guidelines in behavioral interventions (SCRIBE), eight patients with heterogeneous emotional disorders were randomly assigned to a 1- or 3-week baseline assessment phase followed by four sessions of one of four UP modules (psychoeducation, emotional awareness, cognitive flexibility, and countering emotional behaviors). Results provide preliminary support for the notion that each UP module under study leads to change in its associated skill in the absence of the other modules (five of eight patients demonstrated reliable change in the module-specific skill). In addition, exploratory analyses suggest that the emotion awareness training and cognitive flexibility modules appeared to exhibit change specific to their associated skills, psychoeducation, and countering emotional behaviors demonstrated somewhat more broad-based change across skills.
Behavior modification, 2017 · doi:10.1177/0145445516673827