Radically open-dialectical behavior therapy for adult anorexia nervosa: feasibility and outcomes from an inpatient program

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Eunice Y Chen¹  Marian Titley²  Heather A O’Mahen³  Roelie J Hempel⁴  Thomas R Lynch⁴  Katie LH Gray⁴ 

[1] Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA;Haldon Unit, Wonford Hospital, Devon Partnership Trust, Exeter, UK;School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK;School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, UK;

关键词: Anorexia nervosa;    DBT;    Inpatient;    Eating disorders;    Overcontrol;    Personality disorders;    Radical openness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-293

 received in 2013-03-31, accepted in 2013-09-26,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAnorexia Nervosa (AN) is a highly life-threatening disorder that is extremely difficult to treat. There is evidence that family-based therapies are effective for adolescent AN, but no treatment has been proven to be clearly effective for adult AN. The methodological challenges associated with studying the disorder have resulted in recommendations that new treatments undergo preliminary testing prior to being evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. The aim of this study was to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of a treatment program based on a novel adaptation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for adult Anorexia Nervosa (Radically Open-DBT; RO-DBT) that conceptualizes AN as a disorder of overcontrol.MethodsForty-seven individuals diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa-restrictive type (AN-R; mean admission body mass index = 14.43) received the adapted DBT inpatient program (mean length of treatment = 21.7 weeks).ResultsSeventy-two percent completed the treatment program demonstrating substantial increases in body mass index (BMI; mean change in BMI = 3.57) corresponding to a large effect size (d = 1.91). Thirty-five percent of treatment completers were in full remission, and an additional 55% were in partial remission resulting in an overall response rate of 90%. These same individuals demonstrated significant and large improvements in eating-disorder related psychopathology symptoms (d = 1.17), eating disorder-related quality of life (d = 1.03), and reductions in psychological distress (d = 1.34).ConclusionsRO-DBT was associated with significant improvements in weight gain, reductions in eating disorder symptoms, decreases in eating-disorder related psychopathology and increases in eating disorder-related quality of life in a severely underweight sample. These findings provide preliminary support for RO-DBT in treating AN-R suggesting the importance of further evaluation examining long-term outcomes using randomized controlled trial methodology.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Lynch et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013