Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders adapted for a group setting

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions requiring effective treatments.
• Enhanced cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT-E) is an established therapy for eating disorders.
• Adapting CBT-E for group settings may improve treatment accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of group-based enhanced cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT-E) for individuals with eating disorders.
• To assess the impact of group CBT-E on eating disorder psychopathology and associated maintaining factors.
• To compare the outcomes of group CBT-E against a waitlist control.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 40 individuals with eating disorders (BMI ≥ 18 kg/m²).
• Participants were randomized to either immediate-start or delayed-start group CBT-E.
• Outcome measures included the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), BMI, and assessments of perfectionism, self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, and mood intolerance.

Main Results:

• Over 70% of participants completed the treatment.
• Group CBT-E significantly reduced Global EDE-Q scores compared to the waitlist control over the initial 8 weeks.
• At post-treatment, 67.9% of completers achieved good outcomes, with significant improvements in perfectionism, self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, and mood intolerance.

Conclusions:

• Group-based CBT-E is an effective treatment for reducing eating disorder psychopathology in a transdiagnostic sample.
• This group format offers a viable strategy to enhance the availability of evidence-based eating disorder interventions.
• Further research can explore long-term effects and optimal implementation of group CBT-E.