Transdiagnostic Treatments for Enhancing Positive Affect and Well-Being

Recent years have seen increased interest in transdiagnostic interventions, which seek to alleviate psychopathology by targeting mechanisms responsible for its etiology and maintenance across diagnostic categories. These interventions are promising due to being cost and time efficient and applicable to diverse clinical presentations. There is a growing parallel appreciation for the dimensional nature of emotional disorders, including anxiety, depressive, and related disorders in which emotion dysregulation is central. Positive affect and well-being are important, yet often overlooked, in the development and maintenance of psychopathology. This chapter explores transdiagnostic treatments to enhance positive affect and well-being in emotional disorders. One intervention is profiled, the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), a transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral treatment targeting neuroticism with a mounting body of evidence for anxiety and related disorders. This chapter highlights ways the UP and other transdiagnostic interventions may enhance positive functioning in emotional disorders. Also explored are the ways in which positive functioning can be enhanced from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing on research in the areas of spirituality, religion, and positive psychology. The central thesis proposed in this chapter is that a transdiagnostic approach targeting not only intense negative affect but also positive affect may be particularly helpful in improving quality of life for individuals with deficits across dimensions of well-being. Future directions in this line of research are proposed.