Adapting interpersonal psychotherapy to a group format (IPT-G) for binge eating disorder: Toward a model for adapting empirically supported treatments

The current managed-care-driven health care climate with its focus on cost containment has led to a heightened interest in empirically supported treat ments. Consequently, researchers and clinicians are increasingly being aske d to adapt these manualized treatments across psychiatric disorders and the rapeutic modalities. However, little literature exists about how to make th ese adaptations. To illustrate the process of adapting a manualized treatme nt across disorders and modalities, the authors describe their experience o f adapting Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) from major depressive disorder (MDD) to binge-eating disorder (BED) and from an individual format to a gr oup format. A set of questions is provided as a template for making these a daptations and as a means of stimulating more rigorous thinking about the p rocess. The authors call for standardization of the adaptation process as i t will allow practitioners and clinical researchers to more efficiently and effectively adapt treatments across mental disorders and therapeutic modal ities.