READY OR NOT - STAGES OF CHANGE AS PREDICTORS OF BRIEF GROUP-THERAPY OUTCOME IN BULIMIA-NERVOSA

Although group therapy is often recommended for the treatment of bulim ia nervosa, relatively little is known about predictors of short-term outcome. This pilot study examined whether a standardized measure of r eadiness for change might be related to changes in binge frequency. Si xteen bulimic patients participated in short-term cognitive behavioral group therapy for twelve weeks Each patient completed the Change Asse ssment Scale prior to treatment along with a battery of symptom measur es which were readministered at the conclusion of therapy. Bulimic pat ients with positive outcome in binge frequency were at a higher stage of readiness for change at pretreatment than were patients with negati ve outcome. Results indicated that there may be methods of determining who would be most likely to benefit from cognitive behavioral group t herapy, and tentatively suggest that interventions may be more success ful when readiness for change is taken into consideration.