Table 1.

Reducing emotion-motivated avoidant coping: techniques from the Unified Protocol.

Skill	Target Behavior/Experience	Example Application
Mindful Emotion Awareness Goal: Practice present moment, nonjudgmental awareness in response to emotions	Future- and past-focused awareness such as pre-occupation with life before COVID-19 or the prospect that the world will not return to normality in the future	Practice bringing awareness back to the present moment, again and again
	Aversive reactions or judgments about emotions such as judging negative affect experienced during COVID-19 as “bad” and “intolerable”, or judging oneself as “bad” or “weak” for experiencing emotions	Practice being non-judgmental of emotions in response to judgments
	Attempts to avoid emotions for example through distraction, cognitive or behavioral avoidance, or checking behaviors	Practice being willing to experience emotions vs. avoid them
Cognitive Flexibility Goal: Increase tolerance of uncertainty	Rumination about COVID-19 stressors Worry about COVID-19 stressors and associated catastrophic fears	Consider the multiple different outcomes possible if COVID-19 is contracted Consider previous times when the individual has coped with uncertainty
Alternative Action Goal: Exposure to negative emotions, reduce non-adaptive behaviors, increase behavioral activation	Excessive avoidance of necessary activities that interferes with functioning (e.g., doctor’s visits)	Attend doctor’s visits
	Compulsive checking of news	Limit news checking to certain times of day for time-limited periods
	Compulsive cleaning Reassurance seeking	Follow guidelines from authorities Rely on self for reassurance
Emotion Exposure Goal: Perceive negative emotions as manageable, retain adaptive levels of anxiety and other emotions	Attempts to avoid or control strong negative emotions associated with COVID-19 social distancing such as anxiety	Mindful emotion awareness Imaginal exposure of worse case scenarios (contracting COVID-19, unlimited restrictions to our way of life) Attending a doctor’s appointment Plan a social interaction (e.g., get together in-person inside, get together outside, via Zoom)