56 research outputs found
A pragmatic effectiveness study of 10-session cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-T) for eating disorders: Targeting barriers to treatment provision
Objective
Tenâsession cognitive behavioural therapy (CBTâT) for transdiagnostic eating disorders targets several barriers to treatment, including cost, therapist expertise, and lengthy wait lists.
Method
We used a case series design to investigate the effectiveness of CBTâT delivered by trainee psychologists in a postgraduate training clinic. Participants were randomly allocated to commence treatment either immediately or after a 4âweek waitlist period. CBTâT was delivered to 52 patients, by six different trainees under supervision. Measures of eating disorder cognitions and behaviours, quality of life, and general psychopathology were examined in completer and intentionâtoâtreat analyses using multilevel modelling. Last observation carried forward was applied for abstinence, remission, and good outcome analyses to aid comparison with prior studies.
Results
Significant improvements, associated with medium to large effect sizes, were found for eating disorder cognitions, behaviours quality of life, and negative affect from baseline to posttreatment, and at 1â and 3âmonth followâup. Attrition (38.5%) was comparable with other treatment studies.
Conclusion
Results provide evidence for the effectiveness of CBTâT delivered by trainee psychologists for transdiagnostic eating disorder patients, thus tackling some important barriers for treatment. Longer followâup, randomised controlled trial designs, and moderator analyses will provide more robust evidence about which patients do best with a shorter therapy
Thinking about Eating Food Activates Visual Cortex with Reduced Bilateral Cerebellar Activation in Females with Anorexia Nervosa: An fMRI Study
Background: Women with anorexia nervosa (AN) have aberrant cognitions about food and altered activity in prefrontal cortical and somatosensory regions to food images. However, differential effects on the brain when thinking about eating food between healthy women and those with AN is unknown. Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) examined neural activation when 42 women thought about eating the food shown in images: 18 with AN (11 RAN, 7 BPAN) and 24 age-matched controls (HC). Results: Group contrasts between HC and AN revealed reduced activation in AN in the bilateral cerebellar vermis, and increased activation in the right visual cortex. Preliminary comparisons between AN subtypes and healthy controls suggest differences in cortical and limbic regions. Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest that thinking about eating food shown in images increases visual and prefrontal cortical neural responses in females with AN, which may underlie cognitive biases towards food stimuli and ruminations about controlling food intake. Future studies are needed to explicitly test how thinking about eating activates restraint cognitions, specifically in those with restricting vs. binge-purging AN subtypes
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