Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia50 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the role of Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) as a pre-treatment intervention for adolescents who are hospitalized for Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The primary aims are to determine if CRT can result in greater treatment engagement post-discharge, increased rate of weight gain post-discharge, reduction in symptom accommodation, and increased behavioral flexibility in adolescents and parents.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric condition; the hallmark features are low body weight and difficulties gaining weight. We are in need of new methods to jump start treatment, while targeting relevant processes in individuals with AN. Study Design: This is a randomized controlled trial looking to address these concerns, with a focus on three distinct aims: 1. To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability (by patients and staff) of CRT in a medical hospitalization setting. 2. Compare the impact of CRT to CRT + Teach the Parent on adolescent treatment engagement post-discharge, rate of weight gain post-discharge, and reduction of symptom accommodation. 3. To evaluate cognitive and behavioral flexibility 6 months post-discharge. Setting/Participants: Participants will be 60 adolescents with AN or subclinical AN (and their parents). Adolescents will be hospitalized for treatment of AN and intervention will occur on an inpatient basis. Follow-up will be outpatient. Study Interventions and Measures: The current study will investigate the impact of intensive CRT (one sessions/day) delivered during in hospital for medical stabilization. Shortly after admission to hospital, adolescents will be randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: Treatment as usual (TAU), CRT+Contact Control (known as "Family Fun Time" or FFT) and CRT + Teach the Parent. Psychosocial, neurocognitive, and behavioral measures will be collected throughout the study. Follow-up will continue for 6 months post-discharge. Description of Investigational Intervention: CRT is an adjunctive intervention focusing on the development of meta-cognition: Teaching individuals to think about how they think. It involves presenting individuals with a variety of tasks requiring increasingly complex mental abilities. These include sorting tasks where rules change, geometric figures, illusions, reversing sequences of numbers and letters, and finding various routes on a map. CRT's focus is mainly on process, instead outcome, and has three main goals: 1. Improve brain function by exercising and increasing connections in the brain 2. Encourage individuals to think about their thinking style 3. Encourage individuals and families to spend time away from thinking about the eating disorder

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Interventions

CRT + Teach the ParentBEHAVIORAL

CRT sessions will occur for 45-60 minutes every day (excluding weekends) for 6-8 days while adolescents are in hospital. Adolescents will be given homework and asked to practice tasks each day.

CRT + Contact ControlBEHAVIORAL

Adolescents will be asked to spend 3-4 sessions with their parents engaging in fun activities (games, coloring, trivia). Adolescents will be able to choose 2 tasks from a list and be asked to engage in those tasks with their parents.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 12 YearsMax age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Adolescent is between 12-18 years of age and living at home, parent or primary caregiver willing to participate in condition they are randomized into 2. Adolescent meets diagnostic criteria of anorexia nervosa (either restricting or binge/purge subtype), or sub threshold AN according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 criteria 3. Consent of all family members who will be participating in treatment 4. Adolescent is not currently receiving outpatient treatment for the eating disorder Exclusion Criteria: 1. Caregiver or adolescent with a co-morbid diagnosis of psychotic disorder, substance dependence, substance abuse, or bi-polar disorder 2. caregiver or adolescent with diagnosis of mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorder, or autism spectrum disorder 3. Adolescent with a diagnosis of feeding or eating concerns not elsewhere classified with the primary symptoms of bingeing and purging, binging without compensatory behaviors or spitting food or with restricting patterns 4. Adolescent with diagnosis of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. 5. Adolescent or caregiver with acute suicide risk. 6. Concurrent psychosocial treatment for another condition 7. Adolescent or parent not fluent in English

Locations (1)

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in adolescent treatment engagement via questionnaire

The Motivational Stages of Change for Adolescents Recovering from an Eating Disorder (MSCARED) is a questionnaire designed to assess readiness to change among individuals with eating disorders. It is administered via interview, discussing motivation, actions that qualify for making changes, and asking what stage of change the patient is in. The patient then checks off those actions they are doing that contribute to their recovery from a provided checklist.

Time frame: Baseline to 3 months post baseline

Secondary Outcomes

Change in adolescent cognitive flexibility via questionnaire

The Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) is a 12-item self report measure that assesses 3 different components: cognitive flexibility, rigidity and communication flexibility. Scores for each question range from 1-6 (strongly disagree - strongly agree). Scores on cognitive flexibility are positively related to communication flexibility and negatively related to rigidity. Scores on communication flexibility are also negatively related to rigidity.

Time frame: Baseline to 6 months post baseline

Change in parental symptom accommodation, via questionnaire

The Accommodation and Enabling Scale for Eating Disorders (AESED) is a 39-item measure that gathers information about the enabling behaviors that family members with a child who has an eating disorder engage in. It contains three subscales: avoidance and modifying routine, meal ritual, and control of the family.

Time frame: Baseline to 3 months post baseline

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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