Telephone counselling - The EDA approach

In 1989 the Eating Disorders Association established a telephone counsellin g programme for clients with bulimia nervosa. This programme is described i n detail. Results of the counselling, conducted over a 2-year period, on 26 patients, are reported. Results show a significant reduction in binge-eati ng, vomiting and laxative abuse. Those remaining bulimic differed significa ntly from those recovered in that they had a longer history of illness. Pat ients rated telephone counselling more highly than face-to-face counselling in terms of convenience, anonymity and confidentiality. The majority felt trust would be enhanced with personal contact. It would appear that a struc tured telephone counselling programme for patients with bulimia nervosa may offer a viable, effective to conventional counselling. This may provide on e answer to the treatment of these patients in areas where services are lac king. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Associ ation.