An open trial of self‐help behaviours of clients with eating disorders in an online programme

Abstract

Internet-based self-help programmes for eating disorders are helpful adjuncts to professional treatment.

Treating eating disorders over the internet: A systematic review and future research directions

“…It is important to investigate the acceptability of internet‐based treatments for ED, meaning how well individuals with an ED accept internet‐based treatments. Overall, such treatments appear to be highly acceptable . Participants indicated that the treatments were useful and pleasant, and easy to use.…”

“…Three other studies reported on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered via e‐mail, hereafter referred to as e‐mail therapy. One study investigated a cognitive behavioral self‐help program with internet‐based guidance and another study investigated an open trial of internet‐based unguided self‐help . The majority of the included studies ( N = 14) reported on internet‐based CBT.…”

“…Treatment dropout could for example be defined as a failure to complete all treatment sessions, while it could also refer to a failure to complete a certain number or percentage of available treatment sessions . Only one of the included studies investigated participants' reasons for treatment dropout defined as those who discontinued using the online self‐help program: participants reported a lack of motivation, energy or time, loss of interest, lack of benefit, as well as computer‐related difficulties (technical problems) . It is unfortunate that reasons for treatment dropout are under‐researched, since it could provide important information, such as (major) inhibitors or downsides of a treatment program, or the usefulness of such a program.…”

Evaluating the role of digital intervention design in treatment outcomes and adherence to eTherapy programs for eating disorders: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Nineteen studies (83%) examined programs which the authors reported to be CBT‐based. Five studies did not use CBT as their primary intervention and described using a mix of psychoeducation, self‐monitoring and motivational interviewing (Aardoom et al, ; Cardi et al, ; Hötzel et al, ; Leung et al, ; Strandskov et al, ).…”

“…The frequency of contact was reported as once per week across all studies, apart from two studies, which provided guidance one to two times per week (ter Huurne et al, ; ter Huurne et al, ). Two studies (Bara‐Carril et al, ; Leung et al, ) did not provide any support or guidance for participants, neither via a technological platform nor face‐to‐face. For further details regarding the nature of clinician support in each study, see Table .…”