Group therapy for people with bulimia nervosa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Polnay, Adam; James, Venessa; Hodges, Laura; Murray, Gordon D.; Munro, Calum; Lawrie, Stephen M.

doi:10.1017/s0033291713002791

Cited by 33 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While MFT demonstrated potential in the treatment of adolescents living with AN (Hollesen et al, 2013), CBT was found to be more beneficial for those living with BN (Lazaro et al, 2011). This is consistent with the findings for BN among the adult population (Brownley et al, 2007;Polnay et al, 2013;Zimpfer, 1990).…”

Section: Interventionssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…There exists a body of literature demonstrating the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of adults living with BN (Brownley et al, 2007;Polnay et al, 2013;Zimpfer, 1990). Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has shown promise in the treatment of adults living with both BN and BED (Chen & Safer, 2010;Erb, Farmer, & Mehlenbeck, 2013;Safer, 550618S GOXXX10.1177 1 University of Melbourne, Australia Telch, & Chen, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Group Therapy for Adolescents Living With an Eating Disorder

Downey

2014

Sage Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Group models are commonly used to treat eating disorders; however, research in this area remains largely underdeveloped. Interest in group work is likely to increase due to the demands on the public health system and the cost-effectiveness of group modalities. This scoping review sought to explore the evidence underpinning group therapy for adolescents living with an eating disorder. A literature search of 10 academic databases and four gray literature databases was undertaken in 2013. Selected Internet resources were searched and the author consulted professionals from Eating Disorders Victoria, the Butterfly Foundation, and the University of Melbourne. A total of 11 peer-reviewed articles published between 2003 and 2013 were included for review. There was an overall lack of research with no randomized-controlled trials available. Six program evaluations and five program descriptions were found, and they reported on a range of eating disorders and group modalities. The program evaluations suggested the utility of group therapy for promoting weight restoration in underweight individuals living with an eating disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy groups were found to be more effective for bulimia nervosa and multifamily group therapy showed promise for anorexia nervosa. More rigorous research is needed to establish the effectiveness of group therapy for adolescents living with an eating disorder.

show abstract

Section: Interventionssupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group Therapy for Adolescents Living With an Eating Disorder

Downey

2014

Sage Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, previous RCTs of individual CBT have had greater success in achieving abstinence, with 38–47% of patients reporting abstinence by the end of 20-week treatment [17, 29, 30]. Our findings may represent an improvement over previous RCTs of group CBT, which reported 0–16% of participants abstinent by post-treatment, and only 10% at 6-month follow up [31–33]. Subsequent papers will examine treatment effectiveness by taking into account other individual characteristics associated with outcome (i.e., moderators) and explore potential adverse effects of psychotherapy [34, 35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 41%

CBT4BN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Chat and Face-to-Face Group Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa

Zerwas¹,

Watson

Hofmeier³

et al. 2016

Psychother Psychosom

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) represents the first-line evidence-based psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa (BN), most individuals seeking treatment do not have access to this specialized intervention. We compared an Internet-based manualized version of CBT group therapy for BN conducted via a therapeutic chat group (CBT4BN) to the same treatment conducted via a traditional face-to-face group therapy (CBTF2F). Method: In a two-site, randomized, controlled noninferiority trial, we tested the hypothesis that CBT4BN would not be inferior to CBTF2F. A total of 179 adult patients with BN (2.6% males) received up to 16 sessions of group CBT over 20 weeks in either CBT4BN or CBTF2F, and outcomes were compared at the end of treatment and at the 12-month follow-up. Results: At the end of treatment, CBT4BN was inferior to CBTF2F in producing abstinence from binge eating and purging. However, by the 12-month follow-up, CBT4BN was mostly not inferior to CBTF2F. Participants in the CBT4BN condition, but not CBTF2F, continued to reduce their binge-eating and purging frequency from the end of treatment to the 12-month follow-up. Conclusions: CBT delivered online in a group chat format appears to be an efficacious treatment for BN, although the trajectory of recovery may be slower than face-to-face group therapy. Online chat groups may increase accessibility of treatment and represent a cost-effective approach to service delivery. However, barriers in service delivery such as state-specific license and ethical guidelines for online therapists need to be addressed.

show abstract

“…We found five past meta-analyses that compared the effects of group and individual psychotherapy for EDs, however, the majority of these are out of date, targeted only bulimia nervosa (BN), and reported conflicting results (Erford et al, 2013;Fettes & Peters, 1992;Hartmann, Herzog, & Drinkmann, 1992;Polnay et al, 2014;Thompson-Brenner, Glass, & Westen, 2003). We found five past meta-analyses that compared the effects of group and individual psychotherapy for EDs, however, the majority of these are out of date, targeted only bulimia nervosa (BN), and reported conflicting results (Erford et al, 2013;Fettes & Peters, 1992;Hartmann, Herzog, & Drinkmann, 1992;Polnay et al, 2014;Thompson-Brenner, Glass, & Westen, 2003).…”

Section: Group Psychotherapy For Eating Disorders: Findings Of Pastmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors suggested further research be conducted to refine and improve the quality of their findings (Polnay et al, 2014). Results of this meta-analysis are limited due to the small number of primary studies that were included (N 5 10).…”

Section: Group Psychotherapy For Eating Disorders: Findings Of Pastmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group psychotherapy for eating disorders: A meta‐analysis

Grenon

Schwartze

Hammond

et al. 2017

Intl J Eating Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Additional research is needed to evaluate other group psychotherapy approaches, along with CBT, to provide more evidence-based treatment options for individuals with an ED. Group psychotherapy appears as effective as other common treatments and is perhaps more cost-effective than the most popular treatment, individual psychotherapy. Only 8.33% of comparisons in the current meta-analysis had at least 80% power to detect a moderate effect (d = .50) and we recommend that future RCTs be adequately powered.

show abstract

Group therapy for people with bulimia nervosa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 33 publications

References 32 publications

Group Therapy for Adolescents Living With an Eating Disorder

Group Therapy for Adolescents Living With an Eating Disorder

CBT4BN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Chat and Face-to-Face Group Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa

Group psychotherapy for eating disorders: A meta‐analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About