Radical Acceptance and Obesity-Related Health Conditions: A Case Report

The current report presents the case of "Tisha," an 18-year-old African American young woman with severe obesity and cardiomyopathy. While the emotional distress associated with chronic health conditions can lead youth to engage in maladaptive behaviors as well as impede adherence to medical recommendations, psychological interventions have shown promise in improvement of both negative affect and adherence. Tisha reported engaging in maladaptive overeating patterns in response to emotional distress associated with her medical conditions. Upon participating in an intervention that applied dialectical behavior therapy skills to address binge-eating behaviors, Tisha reported that radical acceptance was a particularly useful skill that taught her the importance of acknowledging and accepting the reality of her health condition and thereby reducing engagement in binge-eating behaviors. Post-intervention behavioral ratings also demonstrated clinically significant improvement in depressive problems. The results of this case report highlight the need for simultaneous treatment of physical and psychological symptoms and underscore the importance of early intervention.