The effect of group cognitive behavior therapy on Chinese patients with anorexia nervosa: an open label trial

ConclusionPreliminary findings from this open label trial suggest that G-CBT adapted from CBT-E is feasible in an outpatient setting and as effective as IOT in facilitating weight regain and reducing psychopathology in Chinese AN patients with little evidence for the superiority of either intervention.Trial registration: The current study was registered at clinical trials.gov on September 23, 2018 (registration number NCT03684239).Plain English summaryPeople with anorexia nervosa (AN) are known to be unmotivated for treatment and prone to relapse. Recovery from AN often needs intensive, long-term treatment from a specialized multidisciplinary team, which is not accessible for most people in China. Given the increasing incidence of AN and lack of eating disorder (ED) specialists in China, it is important to develop short-term cost-effective treatments for AN. In this study, we explored the feasibility and efficacy of group cognitive behavior therapy (G-CBT) adapted from enhanced cognitive behavior therapy (CBT-E) for people with AN from China. We found that G-CBT was as effective as individual outpatient treatment (IOT) typically provided to AN patients at the research site in facilitating weight regain, improving eating behaviors, and reducing ED and other symptoms. We also found that patients receiving G-CBT made more improvements in cognitive symptoms of the ED, which might help maintain treatment gains and prevent relapse in the long run. This potential long-term advantage...
Source: Journal of Eating Disorders - Category: Eating Disorders & Weight Management Source Type: research