Abstract

BackgroundGenerally, neuropsychiatric patients share different symptoms across nosological categories, such as, amongst other, psychological distress, mood alterations, anxiety, and self-regulation disturbances.ReAttach is a novel psychological intervention with its key elements being external affect and arousal regulation, stimulation of multiple sensory processing, conceptualization, affective mentalization, and associative memory processing. ReAttach has been hypothesized to be effective in reducing symptom severity in different psychiatric conditions. Given the limited information currently available, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of main ReAttach elements called “Wiring Affect with ReAttach” (W.A.R.A.) on negative affect (N.A.), and to compare it with “Distraction,” another well-established affect-regulating strategy. MethodsWe used a single-blind, randomized controlled crossover equivalence design to compare the efficacy on N.A. regulation of W.A.R.A. versus Distraction in 101 patients with different neuropsychiatric disorders. ResultsThe results showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) in response to W.A.R.A. vs. Distraction, with W.A.R.A. being significantly more effective in regulating N.A., with a large effect size (dRMpooled = 2.38) and a high probability (95%) of success. LimitationsThe heterogeneity of the study population makes generalization and clear recommendations for specific patient groups difficult. The Numeric Rating Scale might have prevented detection of increased N.A. when the baseline scores were high. More in-depth research is needed to explore the W.A.R.A. technique and the extent of confounding variables such as the placebo effect. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that W.A.R.A. may be an effective, accessible, and brief intervention reducing negative affect. Although premature, these first results are encouraging.

Highlights

  • According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), in the last years, 25 % of European adults have been suffering from mental health problems, especially those involving affective disorders (W.H.O., 2015)

  • With W.A.R.A., we address to pre-conceptual negative affect instead of working with concepts of pain or emotion

  • The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of W.A.R.A., an affect regulation strategy, based on disengagement (Gross et al, 2011; Gyurak et al, 2011; Fox and Calkins, 2003; Bronson, 2000), through a prospective single-blinded, randomized controlled, crossover trial, in a large sample of patients with different neuropsychiatric conditions

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Summary

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), in the last years, 25 % of European adults have been suffering from mental health problems, especially those involving affective disorders (W.H.O., 2015). Sensory integration, and conceptualization can be regarded as requirements for negative affect (N.A.) regulation. Neuropsychiatric patients share different symptoms across nosological categories, such as, amongst other, psychological distress, mood alterations, anxiety, and self-regulation disturbances. ReAttach is a novel psychological intervention with its key elements being external affect and arousal regulation, stimulation of multiple sensory processing, conceptualization, affective mentalization, and associative memory processing. Methods: We used a single-blind, randomized controlled crossover equivalence design to compare the efficacy on N.A. regulation of W.A.R.A. versus Distraction in 101 patients with different neuropsychiatric disorders. Conclusions: The findings suggest that W.A.R.A. may be an effective, accessible, and brief intervention reducing negative affect.

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