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Published on: May 10, 2022
Programme-Led and Focused Interventions for Recent Onset Binge/Purge Eating Disorders: Use and Outcomes in the First
Karina L Allen1,2, Laura Courtney1, Philippa Croft1
1Eating Disorders Service, Maudsley Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Guided self-help (GSH) and 10-session cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders (CBT-T) are effective for binge/purge eating disorders. These focused interventions performed comparably to longer treatments in early intervention settings.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Eating Disorders Research
Background:
- Emerging adults with non-underweight binge/purge eating disorders often receive early intervention.
- Programme-led and focused psychological therapies are available, including guided self-help (GSH) and 10-session cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders (CBT-T).
- Comparisons with other psychological therapies like group and individual CBT for eating disorders (CBT-ED) are needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the utilization and outcomes of programme-led and focused interventions (GSH, CBT-T) against other psychological therapies (group and individual CBT-ED).
- To analyze treatment effectiveness in a national sample of emerging adults undergoing early intervention for non-underweight binge/purge eating disorders.
Main Methods:
- Data from 1097 participants across 54 English eating disorder services using the First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders (FREED) model.
- Participants diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, other specified feeding or eating disorder, or unspecified eating disorder.
- Linear mixed models analyzed treatment effects on binge eating, purging, eating disorder psychopathology, depression/anxiety, and BMI.
Main Results:
- 11% received GSH and 24% received CBT-T; baseline symptoms did not differ significantly across treatment groups.
- All treatments led to significant symptom reductions over time.
- GSH and CBT-T demonstrated comparable effectiveness to longer CBT-ED interventions.
Conclusions:
- GSH and CBT-T are effective treatments for non-underweight binge/purge eating disorders.
- Programme-led and focused interventions may be under-utilized in early intervention settings.
- Further research should investigate the optimal timing and utilization of these interventions.
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