A Psycho-Education Intervention for Parents of Adolescents With Eating Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficacy of a 2-hour psycho-education session combined with bi-weekly telephone support in increasing parent/caregiver knowledge about eating disorders, increasing self-efficacy by empowering parents to support their child's recovery, and decreasing the impact of eating disorder symptoms on the family. The intervention was targeted at parents/caregivers whose child was waiting to be assessed for an eating disorder. Participants included 51 parents/caregivers and 36 youths. The brief intervention successfully increased parent/caregiver knowledge of the illness, feelings of self-efficacy, and help-seeking behaviors. These findings are clinically useful as waiting lists are common in Canada.

Clinician perspective on parental empowerment in family‐based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa

“…Clinicians endorsed increasing PE using FBT interventions such as raising anxiety and concern about the illness, educating parents about the impact of the illness on the adolescent, and emphasizing that parents are not to blame for the illness and that they can play an important role in re‐nourishing their child. The interventions favoured by the clinicians in our study are supported by a recent Canadian study that found the provision of only 2 hours of a psychoeducation group for parents about the illness and the importance of parental involvement in treatment increased the self‐efficacy of parents to support their child to overcome AN (Spettigue et al ., ). Further, parent‐to‐parent support, where caregivers who have completed FBT speak to parents considering FBT, has been found to be a useful intervention for parents and was shown to expedite the rate of weight restoration in adolescents (Rhodes et al ., ).…”

A controlled study of the Collaborative Care Skills Workshops versus Psycho‐educational Workshops among Spanish caregivers of relatives with an eating disorder

“…Another possibility is that caregivers received enough support in the psycho‐educational programme. Previous literature has shown psycho‐educational methods to be effective when they have been implemented into family interventions (Gutiérrez et al, ; Holtkamp et al, ; Spettigue et al, ; Uehara et al, ). Another possible explanation may be that caregivers benefited by being in a context where others shared similar experiences, an aspect that was present in both groups.…”

A collaborative care skills workshop for carers: Can it be delivered in 1 day?

“…This 7‐item measure is rated on a 5‐point scale from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 5 ( strongly agree ), and therefore, total scores range from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating greater parental self‐efficacy. An example item is “I feel equipped with specific practical strategies for the task of bringing about the complete recovery of my child in the home setting.” The PVA has shown to be sensitive to change following interventions for parents and carers (e.g., Lafrance Robinson et al, ; Spettigue et al, ). Cronbach's α are shown in Table .…”