Dialectical behavior therapy adapted for bulimia: A case report

Objective: This case report describes the application of dialectical behavi or therapy (DBT) to the treatment of bulimia nervosa in a 20-session manual ized therapy. Method: The treatment, based on an affect regulation model of eating disorders, was developed to teach emotion regulation skills to repl ace eating-disordered behaviors. The patient, a 36-year-old woman, had a lo ng history of binge eating and purging that had not responded to 2 years of counseling. In the 4 weeks before treatment began, she reported 13 objecti ve binges and 21 purging episodes. Results and Discussion: Upon initiating DBT, her binge eating and purging rapidly declined. She achieved abstinence by the fifth week of treatment and maintained it through treatment. In the 6 months following treatment, she reported a total of two objective binge episodes and two purge episodes. (C) 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.