Utilization of empirically supported psychotherapy treatments for individuals with eating disorders: A survey of psychologists

Objective: The purpose of this supported was to assess the primary methods used by psychotherapists in treating individuals with eating disorders and to determine the extent to which certain empirically supported psychotherap ies (i.e., cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] and interpersonal psychothera py [IPT]) are used in clinical settings. Method: Surveys developed for this study were sent to 500 psychologists randomly selected from a list of all licensed doctoral-level psychologists in an upper midwestern state. Results : Despite the findings that CBT techniques were reported to be frequently u sed, most respondents identified something other than CBT or IPT as their p rimary theoretical approach. In addition, the majority of repondents indica ted not having received training in the use of manual-based, empirically su pported treatment approaches for working with individuals with eating disor ders, although most reported a desire to obtain such training. Conclusions: Although commonly referred to as the "treatments of choice" in research li terature, manual-based, empirically supported approaches to working with in dividuals with eating disorders has not received adequate dissemination. (C ) 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.