RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Interoceptive Exposure for Adolescents With Low Weight Eating Disorders

A Confirmatory Efficacy Study of Interoceptive Exposure for Adolescents With Low Weight Eating Disorders

About This Trial

This project includes a parallel group randomized controlled trial comparing two psychological treatments: 1) Exposure-based Family Therapy (IE) vs. 2) Family Based Therapy (FBT) for low weight eating disorders with 12 month follow-up. Primary outcomes are expected body weight and clinical impairment. Three mechanisms of change (Autonomous Eating, Non-Judgmental Body Awareness, and Extinction Learning) will be examined in a process mediation models of change.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - Aged 12-18 - Speak English - Permission from pediatrician or equivalent to receive outpatient care - Clinically significant restriction of food intake by EDA-5 or evidence of persistent food avoidance from patient or guardians - Evidence of the inability to maintain greater than minimally low body weight based on BMI for age percentiles and growth trajectories Who Should NOT Join This Trial: - Comorbid psychotic or bipolar disorder - Active suicidal ideation - Current substance dependence - Psychiatric medication initiated or dosage changes \<2 weeks from baseline - Major medical illness (e.g., diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, etc.) Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 12-18 * Speak English * Permission from pediatrician or equivalent to receive outpatient care * Clinically significant restriction of food intake by EDA-5 or evidence of persistent food avoidance from patient or guardians * Evidence of the inability to maintain greater than minimally low body weight based on BMI for age percentiles and growth trajectories Exclusion Criteria: * Comorbid psychotic or bipolar disorder * Active suicidal ideation * Current substance dependence * Psychiatric medication initiated or dosage changes \<2 weeks from baseline * Major medical illness (e.g., diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, etc.)

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Interoceptive Exposure Treatment (IE)

Interoceptive Exposure Therapy (IE) targets food avoidance in Anorexia Nervosa. Each session the therapist weighs the patient, checks-in, and reviews weekly homework. Sessions occur weekly for 20 weeks, with the first session lasting 1.5 hours and the remaining sessions one hour. Early sessions include using exposure to foods and counterconditioning to pair a positive stimulus with a food that would typically produce food avoidance. Parents are trained to model this at home. Sessions mid-way through address the use of non-judgmental description of appearance during mirror exposure. Sessions at the end of the 20 weeks are focused on recognizing change, planning for future obstacles, and developing a relapse prevention plan to continue practicing distress tolerance, counter-conditioning, and food/body exposure.

BEHAVIORAL

Family-Based Treatment (FBT)

Family-Based Therapy (FBT) includes parent-enforced contingencies to increase value of eating and decrease the value of food avoidance. Each session the therapist weighs the patient, checks-in, and reviews weekly homework. Sessions occur weekly for 20 weeks, with the first session lasting 1.5 hours and the remaining sessions one hour. Sessions consist of checking in with the patient, discussion of the week's implementation of refeeding, and helping parents separate the illness from their child. In session 2, a family meal provides the therapist with an opportunity for direct observation of the familial interaction patterns around eating. The therapist makes careful and persistent requests for united parental action toward re-feeding and/or regulating eating habits, the primary concern at this point of the treatment, and the therapist tries to create and reinforce a strong parental alliance around efforts at feeding the child.

Locations (1)

Department of Psychiatry, Eating and Weight Disorders Program

New York, New York, United States