Tele-CBT holds promise as a brief intervention for improving eating psychopathology and depression in bariatric surgery candidates.

Objective-This study aimed to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a postoperative telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention (Tele-CBT) in improving eating pathology and psychosocial functioning.Methods-Six-month post-operative bariatric surgery patients (n = 19) received six sessions of Tele-CBT. Study outcome variables included binge eating (BES), emotional eating (EES), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and anxiety symptoms (GAD-7).Results-Retention was 73.7 % post-intervention. Tele-CBT resulted in significant reductions in mean difference scores on BES, EES-Total, EES-Anxiety, EES-Anger, PHQ9, and GAD7. Tele-CBT patients experienced a mean weight loss of 8.62 ± 15.02 kg between 6-months post-surgery (pre-Tele-CBT) and 12-months post-surgery.Conclusions-These preliminary results suggest that post-surgery Tele-CBT is feasible and can improve post-surgery symptoms of psychopathology in this uncontrolled study, supporting the need for a randomized controlled trial.

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Summary The increased recognition of patients' mental health needs after bariatric surgery has resulted in the emergence of accessible psychosocial interventions; however, there is a dearth of literature on patient experience and satisfaction with these interventions. We explored patients' perceptions and experiences of telephone‐based cognitive behavioural therapy (Tele‐CBT) in this qualitative study. Ten participants from the Toronto Western Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program in Toronto, Canada who completed the Tele‐CBT (http://clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02920112) were individually interviewed from November 2014 to June 2016 until thematic saturation occurred (ie, no more new coding groups emerged). Interviews were transcribed, independently coded, checked for discrepancies, and analysed using grounded theory. Four themes emerged: (1) participants were generally satisfied with Tele‐CBT (eg, therapeutic alliance, resources provided, relevance of therapy to their own bariatric journey), (2) participants noticed emotional, cognitive, and behavioural changes following therapy, (3) the optimal time to deliver the Tele‐CBT was when weight loss plateaued, generally at one‐year post‐surgery, and (4) participants found the telephone modality convenient. CBT was generally found to be helpful and the telephone format increased convenience and accessibility. Patients reported learning skills and receiving resources that could help them improve their well‐being following bariatric surgery.