Mia L Pellizzer1, Glenn Waller2, Tracey D Wade1. 1. College of Education Psychology & Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Ten-session cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-T) for transdiagnostic eating disorders targets several barriers to treatment, including cost, therapist expertise, and lengthy wait lists. METHOD: We used a case series design to investigate the effectiveness of CBT-T delivered by trainee psychologists in a postgraduate training clinic. Participants were randomly allocated to commence treatment either immediately or after a 4-week waitlist period. CBT-T was delivered to 52 patients, by six different trainees under supervision. Measures of eating disorder cognitions and behaviours, quality of life, and general psychopathology were examined in completer and intention-to-treat analyses using multilevel modelling. Last observation carried forward was applied for abstinence, remission, and good outcome analyses to aid comparison with prior studies. RESULTS: Significant improvements, associated with medium to large effect sizes, were found for eating disorder cognitions, behaviours quality of life, and negative affect from baseline to posttreatment, and at 1- and 3-month follow-up. Attrition (38.5%) was comparable with other treatment studies. CONCLUSION: Results provide evidence for the effectiveness of CBT-T delivered by trainee psychologists for transdiagnostic eating disorder patients, thus tackling some important barriers for treatment. Longer follow-up, randomised controlled trial designs, and moderator analyses will provide more robust evidence about which patients do best with a shorter therapy.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Ten-session cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-T) for transdiagnostic eating disorders targets several barriers to treatment, including cost, therapist expertise, and lengthy wait lists. METHOD: We used a case series design to investigate the effectiveness of CBT-T delivered by trainee psychologists in a postgraduate training clinic. Participants were randomly allocated to commence treatment either immediately or after a 4-week waitlist period. CBT-T was delivered to 52 patients, by six different trainees under supervision. Measures of eating disorder cognitions and behaviours, quality of life, and general psychopathology were examined in completer and intention-to-treat analyses using multilevel modelling. Last observation carried forward was applied for abstinence, remission, and good outcome analyses to aid comparison with prior studies. RESULTS: Significant improvements, associated with medium to large effect sizes, were found for eating disorder cognitions, behaviours quality of life, and negative affect from baseline to posttreatment, and at 1- and 3-month follow-up. Attrition (38.5%) was comparable with other treatment studies. CONCLUSION: Results provide evidence for the effectiveness of CBT-T delivered by trainee psychologists for transdiagnostic eating disorderpatients, thus tackling some important barriers for treatment. Longer follow-up, randomised controlled trial designs, and moderator analyses will provide more robust evidence about which patients do best with a shorter therapy.