PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF BULIMIA-NERVOSA AND BINGE-EATING DISORDER

The field of eating disorders has grown rapidly, amassing an impressiv e body of treatment research in the past 20 years. In particular, rese archers have focused on binge eating problems, which include bulimia n ervosa (BN) and the more recently recognized binge eating disorder (BE D). Numerous controlled treatment trials have shown cognitive-behavior al therapy (CBT)to be equally or more efficacious than any other BN tr eatment to which it has been compared. Although CBT also seems to be e ffective for BED, research is in a preliminary stage. Further combinat ions and adaptations of treatments for BED are needed to address the a dditional problem of obesity in this population. Preliminary data sugg est that behavioral weight control treatment for BED is effective in r educing binge eating, and it may have the added benefit of weight loss . Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), the combination of CBT and medica tion, and self-help manuals are promising treatment alternatives for b oth BN and BED. Future treatment trials should include longer-term fol lowup periods and more consistent definitions of successful treatment outcome. In addition, further study is needed in the areas of treatmen t nonresponders, pre-treatment predictors, a stepped-care treatment mo del, and methods for a wider dissemination of validated treatments.