Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Socioemotional Styles Therapy (SET) is a process-based transdiagnostic model linking emotion-regulation mechanisms to the interpersonal motives they serve and the attachment history that shaped them. This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and treatment-contingent change of a brief online SET protocol in adults with clinically significant distress. METHOD: Nine adults entered a non-concurrent randomized multiple-baseline single-case experimental design, with baselines randomly assigned to three, four, or five weeks, eight weekly online sessions, and one-month follow-up; seven completers were analyzed. Distress (CORE-OM) was assessed weekly and a five-item well-being composite daily. Phase contrasts were evaluated with visual inspection and Tau-U; individual change with reliable and clinically significant change indices (CORE-OM, PHQ-9, GAD-7, DERS-E). RESULTS: Completers attended all sessions, and patient satisfaction and therapist-rated acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility were high, although adherence to daily assessment varied (33.7–96.1%). Four of seven showed significant distress reductions, and the aggregated effect was significant (Tau = 0.44, p < .001), though effects concentrated in the four- and five-week conditions. Six improved reliably on at least one instrument; one deteriorated reliably at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: A brief online SET protocol was feasible and acceptable and yielded preliminary evidence of treatment-contingent change.
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