Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa and Higher Weight (Online Treatment Study)

Yale University25 enrolled

Overview

This study will test the feasibility and acceptability of two treatments for adolescents with higher weight seeking treatment for bulimia nervosa (binge eating and purging, or going to extremes to lose weight).

This study will test the feasibility and acceptability of two treatments for adolescents with higher weight seeking treatment for bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is when individuals binge eat (overeat while feeling like they lost control) and purge (do something extreme or unhealthy to lose weight or prevent weight gain). Bulimia nervosa happens across different ages and body sizes. This study is focusing on adolescents who have a larger body size. Adolescents will receive treatment that is 4 months of 45-minute sessions, weekly. Treatment will occur over telehealth (e.g., zoom), and the whole study is online.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Bulimia Nervosa Overweight or Obesity

Interventions

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyBEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment or "talk therapy" that integrates how people think, feel, and behave to create new behavior patterns that improve thinking processes and reduce distress.

MindfulnessBEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness is a psychological treatment or "talk therapy" that practices different coping skills to improve thinking processes and reduce distress.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 12 YearsMax age: 19 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Have higher weight (\>85th BMI percentile or \>85th percentile in past year) * 2 binge/purge episodes per month for the prior 3 months * Be otherwise-healthy youth (i.e., no uncontrolled or serious medical conditions); * Read, comprehend, and write English at a sufficient level to complete study-related materials; * Provide an approval form from a healthcare provider; * Provide a signed and dated written assent (or consent for youth age 18 or 19) prior to study participation; * Provide a signed and dated written consent from one parent prior to study participation; * Be available for participation in the study for 4 months. Exclusion Criteria: * Medical or psychiatric conditions requiring hospitalization or intensive care * anorexia nervosa * developmental or cognitive disorders that would interfere with therapy * pregnancy or breastfeeding * concurrent treatments (medication or psychological) influencing appetite or weight * began hormone therapy in prior 3 months

Locations (1)

Yale University (Teen Power - Online)

New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Bulimia nervosa remission assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)

Remission from binge eating and purging behaviors will be assessed by EDE-Q. The EDE-Q is a self-report questionnaire with four subscales and a global severity score. the global score ranges from 0-6 with higher scores reflecting greater severity of eating disorder behaviors.