Treatment of bulimia-spectrum eating disorders with mindfulness and behavioural methods.

Mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments are supported as care plans for patients with eating disorders, however, this study aims to examine the efficacy of such treatments against the more commonly used cognitive behavioural therapies.

The study uses 44 adult participants with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders who are divided to forms groups who will receive cognitive behaviour therapy or, alternatively, mindfulness and acceptance-based therapy. The results of the study were measured at three stages: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and six months following the treatment.

Observed treatment outcomes included binge eating, depressive symptoms, quality of life, emotional clarity, compensatory behaviour episodes, and global eating disorder severity. The results found that both the cognitive behavioural therapy and the mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies yielded similar results in the participants, which included general improvement in the observed symptom areas. As such, it is concluded that mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies are worthy of further evaluation as treatment for bulimia-spectrum disorders.

Citation:

Juarascio, A. S., Parker, M. N., Hunt, R., Murray, H. B., Presseller, E. K., & Manasse, S. M. (2021). Mindfulness and acceptance‐based behavioral treatment for bulimia‐spectrum disorders: A pilot feasibility randomized trial. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(7), 1270–1277. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1002/eat.23512

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