Development of a Single-Session, Transdiagnostic Preventive Intervention for Young Adults at Risk for Emotional Disorders.

Schertz et al. (2018) ran a proof-of-concept workshop. They packed the full Unified Protocol into one 2-hour class.

College students at risk for anxiety or depression attended. No control group. Pre-test, then post-test.

Students said the single session felt useful and acceptable. Post scores showed they had learned new emotion-management skills.

Lotfizadeh et al. (2020) also used a one-shot acceptance exercise. Their version lasted only 15 minutes and still cut avoidance during a speech task. Together the two studies show ultra-brief acceptance work can help anxious students.

Ragulan et al. (2023) ran a one-time ACT workshop for behavior techs. Staff treatment integrity went up and burnout went down. Same format, different crowd—evidence that a single workshop can move both student and staff behavior.

Friedman et al. (2024) stretched training to four months and saw soft-skill gains in BCBAs. Their longer timeline does not clash with H et al.; it simply asks a different question—how much coaching is needed for deep staff change versus quick student coping tools.

You can slip a 2-hour emotion-skills block into freshman orientation or clinic intake day. One sitting teaches acceptance, labeling, and coping plans that students actually use. If you serve college clients or run campus groups, pilot the workshop next semester. Track pre-post skill ratings; if gains look like H et al., you have a cheap, stigma-free prevention tool ready to scale.