Peer mentoring for eating disorders: evaluation of a pilot program

Beveridge, Jennifer; Phillipou, Andrea; Edwards, Kelly; Hobday, Alice; Hilton, Krissy; Wyett, Cathy; Saw, Anna; Graham, Georgia; Brennan, Leah; Harrison, Philippa; Gier, Rebecca de; Warren, Narelle; Hanly, Freya; Torrens-Witherow, Benjamin; Newton, Richard

doi:10.1186/s40814-018-0268-6

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The current study evaluated a pilot feasibility trial of a peer mentor program (PMP) conducted at Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV), The Melbourne Clinic (TMC), and the Body Image and Eating Disorders Treatment and Recovery Service (BETRS) at the Austin Hospital (inpatient unit) and St. Vincent’s Hospital (intensive day patient program), all in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The design and procedure of the study and PMP have been described in detail [19]; brief details have been provided here. The study was granted independent ethics approval by the Human Research Ethics committees at St Vincent’s Hospital, Austin Health and The Melbourne Clinic.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For mentees, this information included a statement of their values and interests, and preferences for characteristics of their mentor: age, gender, eating disorder history and location. Mentors provided a similar statement of their values and interests, and preferred work style [19]. All participants were matched with at least two of their preferences being met.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Activities undertaken were based on peer support and included providing information, emotional support and sharing of personal recovery experiences. An individualised Wellness Plan (see Additional file 1) [19] was developed by the mentee during the first session. Each plan included short term goals in the following domains: living circumstances and skills, health, self-care, social relationships and connectedness, creative interests and hobbies, work/career and education, identity and sense of self, and community roles and responsibilities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peer mentoring for eating disorders: results from the evaluation of a pilot program

Beveridge¹,

Phillipou

Jenkins

et al. 2019

J Eat Disord

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Background Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychiatric illnesses that have high rates of morbidity and mortality, and low long-term recovery rates. Peer mentor programs (PMPs) have been associated with reduced psychiatric hospitalisation and shorter lengths of stay for those with other severe mental illnesses. The present study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a PMP for individuals with EDs in improving symptomatology and quality of life. Methods Thirty mentees and seventeen mentors were recruited. The PMP involved thirteen sessions over 6 months. Participants completed measures assessing ED symptomatology, quality of life (QoL), mood and perceived disability. Changes in symptomatology before and after the PMP were tested by Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for qualitative evaluation of the PMP. Results The program was deemed to have moderate feasibility with eight of 30 mentees, and two of 17 mentors withdrawing. Completion rates ranged from 2 to 16 sessions, and between 3 and 45 weeks. Mentees demonstrated improvements in body mass index, QoL, ED symptomatology, mood (depression, anxiety and tension/stress) and perceived disability from pre- to post-program. Mentors demonstrated significant increases in ED symptomatology, but no worsening of QoL, mood or perceived disability. Qualitative findings from both mentees and mentors were positive: emergent themes included hope for recovery, a sense of agency and inspiration gained from interaction with someone with lived experience of an ED. Conclusions This pilot study suggests feasibility of the PMP for individuals with EDs. Mentees demonstrated improvements in ED symptomatology, QoL, mood and perceived disability. However, the increase in ED symptomatology reported by the mentors over the PMP highlights potential risks and the need for thorough monitoring while preliminary evaluation is undertaken. The mentoring relationship was a positive experience for both mentees and mentors, instilling an increased hope for recovery in mentees and an opportunity for mentors to reflect on their own recovery with increased confidence. The novel relationship formed throughout mentorship highlights a potential gap in current clinical support services, which warrants further exploration within a controlled trial. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registration Number: ACTRN12617001412325. Retrospectively registered: 05/10/2017. Date of first enrolment: 20/01/2017. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373741&isReview=true Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40337-019-0245-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peer mentoring for eating disorders: results from the evaluation of a pilot program

Beveridge¹,

Phillipou

Jenkins

et al. 2019

J Eat Disord

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“…There is growing interest in the use of peer mentoring as a potential addition to mental health treatment in the domain of eating disorders; however, to date few peermentoring programs have been implemented and evaluated in this clinical population [35]. The most recent systematic review and synthesis of this field by Fogarty et al [11] yielded only four eligible studies (N = 270), with only two of these [36,37] specifically targeting clinical (as opposed to sub-clinical) eating disorders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer mentoring for individuals with an eating disorder: a qualitative evaluation of a pilot program

et al. 2020

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Background: After receiving intensive medical treatment; individuals with eating disorders often require ongoing care to maintain their recovery, build social networks, and reduce risk of relapse. Methods: To address this important transition period, a six-month peer mentoring program was developed and piloted in Melbourne, Australia. Twelve adults with a past history of an eating disorder (mentors) were paired with 14 individuals with a current eating disorder (mentees). Pairs met for thirteen mentoring sessions in community settings. Throughout the program mentees and mentors completed reflective questions online. Upon completion of the program, qualitative interviews were conducted. Both online reflections and interviews explored themes relating to perceived benefits and challenges of participation in the peer mentoring program, and the differences between mentoring and traditional treatment.Results: Thematic analysis identified several benefits for mentees; including hope, reconnection with others, and reengaging with the world. The majority of mentees described their mentor as uniquely supportive due to their past experience of an eating disorder. Mentors reported experiencing benefits such as increased connection with self and others, and indicated that the experience helped them positively reframe their past experience of an eating disorder. Ending the relationship at the completion of the program was a significant challenge for both groups, and managing boundaries was deemed a main challenge by mentors.Conclusions: Overall, results indicated that this mode of informal support may be worthy of further investigation as an adjunct to clinical treatment programs for this population. Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials registration number -ACTRN12617001412325 -Date of registration -05/10/2017 (Retrospectively registered)

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“…However, there were no active control conditions in these studies. Additionally, Cardi et al [52] and Beveridge et al [53] are currently conducting trials on the topic of expert-patient support and EDs. In summary, expert patients may have positive effects on self-efficacy, belonging, and psychopathology [48], but findings are currently too circumstantial to provide convincing proof for the effectiveness of expert-patient support for EDs or recommendations on its implementation, so further investigation is necessary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized controlled trial of an Internet-based intervention for eating disorders and the added value of expert-patient support: study protocol

Rohrbach

Dingemans

Spinhoven

et al. 2019

Trials

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Background E-mental health has become increasingly popular in interventions for individuals with eating disorders (EDs). It has the potential to offer low-threshold interventions and guide individuals to the needed care more promptly. Featback is such an Internet-based intervention and consists of psychoeducation and a fully automated monitoring and feedback system. Preliminary findings suggest Featback to be (cost-)effective in reducing ED symptomatology. Additionally, e-mail or chat support by a psychologist did not enhance the effectiveness of Featback. Support by an expert patient (someone with a lived experience of an ED) might be more effective, since that person can effectively model healthy behavior and enhance self-efficacy in individuals struggling with an ED. The present study aims to replicate and build on earlier findings by further investigating the (cost-)effectiveness of Featback and the added value of expert-patient support. Methods The study will be a randomized controlled trial with a two-by-two factorial design with repeated measures. The four conditions will be (1) Featback, in which participants receive automated feedback on a short monitoring questionnaire weekly, (2) Featback with weekly e-mail or chat support from an expert patient, (3) weekly support from an expert patient, and (4) a waiting list. Participants who are 16 years or older and have at least mild self-reported ED symptoms receive a baseline measure. Subsequently, they are randomized to one of the four conditions for 8 weeks. Participants will be assessed again post-intervention and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months follow-up. The primary outcome measure will be ED psychopathology. Secondary outcome measures are experienced social support, self-efficacy, symptoms of anxiety and depression, user satisfaction, intervention usage, and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Discussion The current study is the first to investigate e-mental health in combination with expert-patient support for EDs and will add to the optimization of the delivery of Internet-based interventions and expert-patient support. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register, NTR7065 . Registered on 7 June 2018. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-019-3574-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Peer mentoring for eating disorders: evaluation of a pilot program

Cited by 6 publications

References 36 publications

Peer mentoring for eating disorders: results from the evaluation of a pilot program

Peer mentoring for eating disorders: results from the evaluation of a pilot program

Peer mentoring for individuals with an eating disorder: a qualitative evaluation of a pilot program

A randomized controlled trial of an Internet-based intervention for eating disorders and the added value of expert-patient support: study protocol

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