Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders
Nov. 14, 2025 10:00 – 5:00 CDT
Live via Zoom
Presenter: Shannon Saueer-Zavala, PhD
Watch for more information and registration coming soon!
This workshop is presented by the Utah Psychological Association in collaboration with the Nebraska Psychological Association and a coalition of over 10 State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Associations.
The proliferation of specific treatment manuals for specific disorders has created unintended barriers for implementation and dissemination of evidence-based psychological treatments (McHugh & Barlow, 2012). The Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP; Barlow et al., 2018) is a recently developed transdiagnostic, emotion-focused cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) that targets core deficits occurring across the neurotic spectrum (e.g., anxiety, depressive, and related disorders). This workshop will first briefly review evidence supporting the development of such transdiagnostic interventions. This will be followed by a description and demonstration of how to apply core UP treatment modules, along with the similarities and differences between the UP and traditional CBT. Audio and videotaped illustrations of core treatment interventions (e.g., mindful awareness, emotion exposures) will be presented, along with detailed case examples involving complex comorbidity. Attendees will be invited to participate in exercises as part of these demonstrations.
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Shannon Saueer-Zavala, PhD, Dr. Sauer-Zavala is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky (UK) and is the founding Director of Clinical Services at the UK Clinic for Emotional Health. She is also the Director of Compass Mental Health Consultation, LLC, an organization with a mission to train mental health providers and organizations in cutting-edge evidence-based interventions. Dr. Sauer-Zavala received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from UK in 2011; she completed her predoctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center and her postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University. She then spent seven years on the faculty in BU’s Department of Psychological and Brain Science before returning home to UK in 2019. Her research is focused on exploring personality-based mechanisms that maintain psychological symptoms and using this information to develop more targeted, easily-disseminated intervention strategies. Her research has been supported by NIMH, NIAAA, Templeton Foundation, the Center for Implementation and Improvement Sciences, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Sauer-Zavala has co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and books. In particular, she is a co-developer of the Unified Protocol and, more recently, BPD Compass.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Develop a unified, transdiagnostic case conceptualization for patients presenting with comorbid emotional disorders.
2. Apply emotion-focused treatment concepts and strategies (e.g., objective monitoring, emotional awareness training, cognitive reappraisal, reduction of emotional avoidance and maladaptive emotion driven behaviors) to patients presenting with comorbid emotional disorders.
3. Create effective and cohesive emotion exposures for patients with depression and complex comorbidities.
Continuing Education
The Nebraska Psychological Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Nebraska Psychological Association maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. Participants attending the live webinar can receive 6 CEs for psychologists as well as master's level clinicians, with full attendance required. No partial credit is awarded; late arrival or early departure will preclude awarding of CE credits for psychologists attending the live webinar. Those arriving more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time or leaving before the workshop is completed will not receive CE credits.
This program meets the criteria of an approved continuing education program for mental health practice.
Cancellation Policy: Written notification is required on or before Nov. 10, 2025, for complete refund of registration fee. All questions, comments and complaints should be directed to the NPA Central Office, at 402-475-0709, 877-355-7934 or npa@ nebpsych.org.
