Transdiagnostic treatment for eating disorders

Jong, M. de (2021)

Doctoral Thesis

The results described in this thesis support the strong empirical evidence for the effectiveness of CBT-Ef for patients with an eating disorder and a BMI>17.5. When compared to TAU, we found comparable effects on eating disorder psychopathology, however CBT-Ef is superior in enhancing self-esteem with significantly fewer sessions and within a shorter time. We found no support for the hypothesis that more severe self-esteem problems, higher levels of perfectionism, or more interpersonal problems would obstruct long-term improvement and would therefore need extra attention in an extended protocol. A broader use of CBT-Ef in clinical practice could result in more efficient and accessible treatment for patients with an eating disorder. In another study we found COMET to be effective in enhancing self-esteem in patients with an eating disorder. Since we did not find the predictive value of low self-esteem in CBT-E treatment outcome, we suggest to integrate COMET in an eating disorder treatment only when low self-esteem is pronounced and interferes with making progress.

• Eating disorders
• CBT-E
• Cognitive behavior therapy
• Self-esteem
• COMET
• RCT
• Transdiagnostic
• Treatment outcome
• Effectiveness

• All authors: Jong, M. de
• Supervisor: Spinhoven, P.; Hoek, H.W.; Korrelboom, C.W.
• Committee: Does, A.J.W. van der; Furth, E.F. van; Elburg, A.A. van; Mulkens, A.A.N.; Heiden, C. van der
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University
• Date: 2021-09-01
• ISBN (print): 9789077877265