Self-help versus therapist-led group cognitive-behavioral treatment of binge eating disorder at follow-up

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longer-term outcome of three group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivery models for the treatment of binge eating disorder (BED).

Fifty-one participants were assigned to one of three conditions. In the therapist-led condition (TL; n = 16), a psychologist provided psychoeducational information for the first half hour and led a group discussion for the second half hour of each session. In the partial self-help condition (PSH; n = 19), participants viewed a 30-min psychoeducational videotape, followed by a therapist-led discussion. In the structured self-help condition (SSH; n = 16), participants watched a psychoeducational videotape and led their own discussion.

Reductions in binge eating episodes and associated symptoms were observed for all three treatments at post, 1-month, 6-month, and 1-year follow-up, with no significant differences among the three conditions.

These findings suggest that CBT for BED can be delivered successfully using videotape and a structured self-help group format and that improvements in binge eating are maintained up to 1 year follow-up.