Individual EFT demonstrates potential as a psychological treatment for BED. The current study provides preliminary evidence to guide the development of a more extensive trial to test the efficacy of individual EFT for BED as well as to identify possible mechanisms of change.

Background Research into psychotherapy for binge-eating disorder (BED) has focused mainly on cognitive behavioural therapies, but efficacy, failure to abstain, and dropout rates continue to be problematic. The experience of negative emotions is among the most accurate predictors for the occurrence of binge eating episodes in BED, suggesting benefits to exploring psychological treatments with a more specific focus on the role of emotion. The present study aimed to explore the feasibility of individual emotion-focused therapy (EFT) as a treatment for BED by examining the outcomes of a pilot randomised wait-list controlled trial. Methods Twenty-one participants were assessed using a variety of feasibility measures relating to recruitment, credibility and expectancy, therapy retention, objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology outcomes. The treatment consisted of 12 weekly one-hour sessions of EFT for maladaptive emotions over 3 months. A mixed model approach was utilised with one between effect (group) using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the hypothesis that participants immediately receiving the EFT treatment would demonstrate a greater degree of improvement on outcomes relating to objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology, compared to participants on the EFT wait-list; and one within effect (time) using a repeated-measures ANOVA to test the hypothesis that participation in the EFT intervention would result in significant improvements in outcome measures from pre to post-therapy and then maintained at follow-up. Results Recruitment, credibility and expectancy, therapy retention outcomes indicated EFT is a feasible treatment for BED. Further, participants receiving EFT demonstrated a greater degree of improvement in objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology compared to EFT wait-list control group participants. When participants in the EFT wait-list control group then received treatment and outcomes data were combined with participants who initially received the treatment, EFT demonstrated significant improvement in objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology for the entire sample. Conclusions These findings provide further preliminary evidence for the feasibility of individual EFT for BED and support more extensive randomised control trials to assess efficacy. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620000563965) on 14 May 2020.

This study describes the treatment of obese individuals who rated high on emotional eating using four case studies that involved 22 sessions of either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). Outcomes measures relating to weight, body mass index, emotional eating, depression, anxiety, and stress were all assessed with each participant prior to each baseline (three weekly sessions), during treatment and posttherapy. At the 8-week follow-up, the two cases that had received DBT had lost 10.1% and 7.6% of their initial body weight, whereas the two cases that had received CBT had lost 0.7% and 0.6% of their initial body weight. The two DBT cases also exhibited reductions in emotional distress, frequency of emotional eating or quantity of food eating in response to emotions, whereas the two CBT cases showed no overall reductions in these areas. Important processes from all four cases are described as are the implications to clinicians for developing more effective interventions for obese clients who engage in emotional eating.

Background: Research into psychotherapy for binge-eating disorder (BED) has focused mainly on cognitive behavioural therapies, but efficacy, failure to abstain, and dropout rates continue to be problematic. The experience of negative emotions is among the most accurate predictors for the occurrence of binge eating episodes in BED, suggesting benefits to exploring psychological treatments with a more specific focus on the role of emotion. The present study aimed to explore the feasibility of individual emotion-focused therapy (EFT) as a treatment for BED by examining the outcomes of a pilot randomised wait-list controlled trial. Methods: Twenty-one participants were assessed using a variety of feasibility measures relating to recruitment, credibility and expectancy, therapy retention, objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology outcomes. The treatment consisted of 12 weekly one-hour sessions of EFT for maladaptive emotions over three months. A mixed model approach was utilised with one between effect (group) using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the hypothesis that participants immediately receiving the EFT treatment would demonstrate a greater degree of improvement on outcomes relating to objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology, compared to participants on the EFT wait-list; and one within effect (time) using a repeated-measures ANOVA to test the hypothesis that participation in the EFT intervention would result in significant improvements in outcome measures from pre to post-therapy and then maintained at follow-up. Results: Recruitment, credibility and expectancy, therapy retention outcomes indicated EFT is a feasible treatment for BED. Further, participants receiving EFT demonstrated a greater degree of improvement in objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology compared to EFT wait-list control group participants. When participants in the EFT wait-list control group then received treatment and outcomes data were combined with participants who initially received the treatment, EFT demonstrated significant improvement in objective binge episodes and days, and binge eating psychopathology for the entire sample. Conclusions: These findings provide further preliminary evidence for the feasibility of individual EFT for BED and support more extensive randomised control trials to assess efficacy. Trial registration: The study was retrospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620000563965) on 14 May 2020 https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12620000563965.aspx

Individuals with binge-eating disorder (BED) often experience emotion regulation deficits, including negative beliefs about emotions and low emotional expressivity. The current exploratory study examined whether emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for BED could change negative beliefs about emotions and emotional expressivity. Twenty participants were randomly allocated to either immediate treatment of 12 weekly one-hour sessions of EFT for BED, or a waitlist control group. Beliefs about emotions and emotional expressivity were assessed before and after 12 sessions of EFT or 12 weeks on the waitlist. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine beliefs about emotions and emotional expressivity changes. EFT for BED resulted in significant changes in particular beliefs about emotions (Overwhelming and uncontrollable, shameful and irrational, invalid and meaningless, and total score on the beliefs about emotions questionnaire) but not emotional expressivity treatment outcomes. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that EFT may be effective in improving maladaptive beliefs about emotions in adults with BED.Trial registration ACTRN12620000563965, 14 May 2020, retrospectively registered.