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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: May 10, 2022
Psychological treatment of eating disorders
G Terence Wilson1, Carlos M Grilo, Kelly M Vitousek
1Rutgers Eating Disorders Clinic, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. tewilson@rci.rutgers.edu
Abstract:
Significant progress has been achieved in the development and evaluation of evidence-based psychological treatments for eating disorders over the past 25 years. Cognitive behavioral therapy is currently the treatment of choice for bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, and existing evidence supports the use of a specific form of family therapy for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Important challenges remain. Even the most effective interventions for bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder fail to help a substantial number of patients. A priority must be the extension and adaptation of these treatments to a broader range of eating disorders (eating disorder not otherwise specified), to adolescents, who have been largely overlooked in clinical research, and to chronic, treatment-resistant cases of anorexia nervosa. The article highlights current conceptual and clinical innovations designed to improve on existing therapeutic efficacy. The problems of increasing the dissemination of evidence-based treatments that are unavailable in most clinical service settings are discussed.
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