Therapist-guided, Internet-based cognitive-behavioural therapy for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD-NET): a feasibility...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
• Limited access to in-person CBT hinders treatment for many BDD sufferers.
• Internet-based interventions offer a scalable solution to increase treatment accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot a novel therapist-supported, Internet-based CBT program for BDD, named BDD-NET.
• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the BDD-NET program.
• To evaluate the preliminary efficacy of BDD-NET in reducing BDD symptom severity.

Main Methods:

• An uncontrolled clinical trial involving 23 self-referred patients with BDD.
• A 12-week BDD-NET program incorporating psychoeducation, functional analysis, cognitive restructuring, and exposure/response prevention, with therapist support.
• Symptom severity measured pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3-month follow-up using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for BDD (BDD-YBOCS).

Main Results:

• BDD-NET demonstrated high patient acceptability.
• Significant reductions in BDD-YBOCS scores were observed (p<0.001) with a large effect size (Cohen's d=2.01).
• 82% of patients met responder criteria (≥30% BDD-YBOCS improvement), with gains maintained at follow-up. Secondary outcomes also improved.

Conclusions:

• Therapist-supported internet-based CBT (BDD-NET) shows potential for increasing access to effective BDD treatment.
• The program is suitable for individuals with moderately severe BDD symptoms and good insight.
• A randomized controlled trial is recommended to further validate BDD-NET's efficacy.