This study aims to conduct an initial, single case investigation of changes in feelings of shame, overall psychological wellbeing, body image and disordered eating in patients in naturalistic setting, Tier 3 weight management service, following CFT based, online group intervention that runs for 12 weeks.
Tier 3 weight management services are led by multidisciplinary teams (MDTS) what usually include physicians, dieticians, nurses, physiotherapist, psychiatrists, and psychologists. In the service where the study is conducted referrals to psychology are often made by a dietician. The psychologist in the service also accepts self referrals from patients either during initial assessment with dieticians or at any point of their journey in the service. The psychology pathway is "opt-in", in other words, only patient who actively express interest, motivation and wish to make use of the additional psych resource and accepted. The participants will be offered the intervention by the group facilitating clinician (who is a part of care team). Initially the principal supervisor was meant to facilitate group intervention, but because the principal supervisor is going on maternity leave the group will be facilitated by a qualified substitute clinician. This clinician will offer an assessment of needs to all patients referred for psychological support. The clinician will act as a gatekeeper and will offer CFT based group intervention when clinically and ethically appropriate (see the exclusion and inclusion criteria below). Taking part in the intervention and signing up for the research will not affect the care patients receive from MDT in the service.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
12
The protocol for the group will be developed collaboratively between the chief researcher and the supervisor based in the weight management service. The protocol will contain Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) based therapeutic approaches, but the group will integrate some Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) concepts.
Experiential Shame Scale
25 items questionnaire. Rated on 4 point Likert scale from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much).Higher scores indicate higher shame. Minimum of total scores-25, Maximum of total scores- 100.
Time frame: 20 weeks
Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10
10 items questionnaire. Items on the CORE measures are scored from zero to four, with higher scores indicating greater levels of distress. Scores of the CORE-10 can be divided into categories of distress: Healthy (0-5), low (6-10), mild (11-14), moderate (15-19), moderate-to-severe (20-24), and severe (25 and above). The maximum of total scores-40, the minimum of total score-0.
Time frame: 20 weeks
Disordered Eating Questionnaire
In part A answers are given on a 5-point frequency scale, the alternatives being never, 1-2 per week, 3-4 per week, every day, more than once a day. In part B the answers are given on a 7-point likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (absolutely). Section A consists of 18 items which evaluate the frequency with which the subject adopts a series of disordered eating behaviors. Section B has 6 items dealing with worries and intrusive thoughts regarding weight, food, calories, physical fitness. The unifactorial structure includes all the items from section A, with the exception of the 4 items concerning purging behaviours and all the items from section B. Adding up the scores of all the items included in the factor, a scale score is obtained whose reliability (measured using Cronbach's alpha) is equal to 0.90. The frequency of purging behaviours is calculated separately by adding the frequencies given in the relative 4 items not included in the scale score.
Time frame: 20 weeks
The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised
The instrument has 18 items. The responses are given in likert like scale where points range from 1-4, the final question asks to self rate from 1-8. The maximum of total possible (raw) scores is 76, the minimum is 18. The instrument consists of 3 scales: Cognitive Restraint, Uncontrolled Eating and Emotional Eating Scale. Higher scores in the respective scales are indicative of greater cognitive restraint, uncontrolled, or emotional eating. The raw scale scores are standardized to a 0-100 scale using a formula.
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Time frame: 20 weeks
The Body Appreciation Scale-2
10-item scale. The items are rated along a 5-point scale (1 = never, 2 = seldom,3= sometimes,4= often,5= always) and are averaged to obtain an overall body appreciation score. Higher scores reflect greater body appreciation. The maximum of total possible scores is 50, the minimum is 10.
Time frame: 20 weeks