4 - (SYM 14) Does Emotion Regulation Improve Following Either CBT or Yoga for Transdiagnostic Emotional Disorders?

Emotion regulation (ER) is a key transdiagnostic process underlying the most globally prevalent mental health conditions and is therefore an important treatment target. Yet, relatively few studies monitor ER alongside clinical outcomes.

Here, we explored changes in ER in secondary analyses from a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial (ACTRN12622000544774) comparing 10-weeks group transdiagnostic CBT (t-CBT) versus 10-weeks group yoga (weekly, 90-min telehealth sessions) for 123 community-dwelling Australian adults (85% female, mean age 38.75) diagnosed with an anxiety, depressive, or posttraumatic stress disorder. ER was measured by the Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI), a well-validated self-report measure of emotion regulation ability across both positive and negative affect.

Following treatment, general ER significantly and meaningfully improved, as well as facilitating hedonic goals (up/down-regulating emotions to increase pleasure/avoid pain; p < .02, Hedges g = .67-.98). Across subscales, the largest effects were for negative, rather than positive, ER. There were no significant differences between yoga and t-CBT.  

Findings confirm that evidence-based t-CBT improves ER and add to a growing body of evidence supporting yoga as a possible mental health intervention, with ER improvements a likely mechanism of action that may explain its efficacy.