Psychological treatments for eating disorders

Abstract

Purpose of review This review summarizes recent evidence on psychological treatments for eating disorders (EDs). Recent findings EDs are serious psychiatric conditions requiring evidence-based intervention. Treatments have been evaluated within each ED diagnosis and across diagnoses. For adults with anorexia nervosa, no one specialist treatment has been shown to be superior. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) remain the most established treatments for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, with stepped-care approaches showing promise and new behavioral treatments under study. Transdiagnostic enhanced CBT has improved symptoms in adults and youth. Maudsley family-based therapy is the most established treatment for youth with anorexia nervosa and may be efficacious for youth with bulimia nervosa. IPT for the prevention of excess weight gain may be efficacious for reducing loss of control eating and weight gain in overweight youth. Summary Significant advances in treatments have been made, including evaluation of long-term outcomes, novel approaches, and tailored extension for specific patient profiles. However, widespread access to effective ED treatments remains limited. Increasing the potency and expanding the implementation of psychological treatments beyond research settings into clinical practice has strong potential to increase access to care, thereby reducing the burden of EDs.

Mindfulness-Based Group Approach for Undergraduate Students with Disordered Eating or Body Image Issues: A Case Study

“…In addition, proper mindfulness training can equip group leaders with the necessary expertise to respond appropriately to the unique dynamics of the milieu. Given its established low cost for implementation, group therapy for EDs will continue to be incorporated into evidence-based treatment plans (Kass, Kolko, & Wifley, 2013). Enduring efforts to effectively train, disseminate and implement ED group therapy interventions will facilitate increased access to evidence-based care and ensure its sustainability.…”

Binge-eating disorder: emerging treatments for a new diagnosis

“…Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has also been shown to be efficacious [37,38] and has a large body of research. Other studied treatments include dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), behavioral weight loss (BWL) treatment, and various forms of guided self-help (gsh) such as CBT-gsh [37,38]. Adjunct interventions include mindfulness and Appetite Awareness Training [39].…”

Tratamientos actuales del trastorno por atracón

“…Sin embargo, no hay evidencia empírica de que la intervención farmacológica por sí sola sea más eficaz que el tratamiento psicológico, ni de que esta mejore los resultados de la terapia psicológica cuando ambos se aplican conjuntamente (Brown y Keel, 2012;Kass, Kolko y Wilfley, 2013). En ciertas revisiones se ha concluido incluso que las intervenciones psicológicas permiten obtener mejores resultados que la medicación o la combinación de ambos tratamientos , o que, en todo caso, cualquier tratamiento conjunto es preferible al empleo de fár-macos en solitario (Reas y Grilo, 2014), ya que, aunque la combinación de psicoterapia y medicación no mejora significativamente los logros obtenidos con la primera, sí puede influir positivamente en la pérdida de peso en comparación con la intervención psicoló-gica en solitario.…”