Online Imaginal Exposure

Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Trial

— Online IE  

Official title:

Imaginal Exposure I Online Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03712748
• Other study ID #: IRB#:16.0771
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 17, 2016
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2020

Study information

• Verified date: March 2021
• Source: University of Louisville
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study evaluates if imaginal exposure therapy can decrease symptoms of eating disorders and anxiety, and test an online format of IE to maximize its ability to reach as many individuals with eating disorders as possible. All participants will complete four imaginal exposure sessions and will complete questionnaires prior to receiving this treatment, as well as complete follow up questionnaires at 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month.

Description:

Eating disorders (EDs) are tenacious mental disorders that are difficult to treat. EDs are often accompanied by anxiety disorders, which exacerbate the problem. Better ED treatments are imperative, and it is likely that targeting comorbid conditions, such as anxiety, will facilitate ED treatments.

Imaginal exposure is used in anxiety disorders to face fears that are not accessible or practical to address via in-vivo exposures. For example, a patient with PTSD cannot re-experience her trauma in real life, but she can imagine the past trauma and experience the subsequent anxiety. For patients with AN, catastrophic outcomes such as abandonment or immediate fatness are similarly impossible to recreate as in-vivo exposures. Patients cannot become fat solely for the purpose of the exposure, but they can imagine what it would be like to become fat. The investigators are unaware of any literature using imaginal exposure therapy to induce fears of fatness and conducted a case study to test whether imaginal exposure could, firstly, induce fears of fatness and then promote reduction in anxiety and eating disorder symptoms. In this case study, the investigators found that imaginal exposure therapy was effective at reducing anxiety and eating disorder behaviors. Imaginal exposure therapy (IE) has been shown to be an extremely effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. IE has also been shown to be effective for the treatment of eating disorders using case studies. However, IE has not been systematically applied to the eating disorders. The purpose of this study is to test if 1) imaginal exposure therapy can decrease symptoms of eating disorders and anxiety, and 2) test an online format of IE to maximize its ability to reach as many individuals with eating disorders as possible.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 208
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2020
• Est. primary completion date: June 1, 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 14 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• At least 14 years of age (no age limit)

• Currently meet criteria for an eating disorder (using the eating disorder diagnostic scale), OR have met criteria for an eating disorder in the last year, OR endorse significant eating disorder fears

• At least one significant eating disorder related fear.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under 14 years of age

• Do not meet eating disorder related criteria

• Do not meet criteria for mania, psychosis, or suicidal ideation will be excluded.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anorexia
• Anorexia Nervosa
• Binge-Eating Disorder
• Bulimia
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Disease
• Eating Disorder
• Exposure
• Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Therapy

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Imaginal Exposure therapy
All participants will complete the same arm, which is four sessions of imaginal exposure across a one month time period. Each session is separated by 1 week.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Eating Anxiety Treatment Laboratory and Clinic	Louisville	Kentucky

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Louisville

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (3)

Levinson CA, Rapp J, Riley EN. Addressing the fear of fat: extending imaginal exposure therapy for anxiety disorders to anorexia nervosa. Eat Weight Disord. 2014 Dec;19(4):521-4. doi: 10.1007/s40519-014-0115-6. Epub 2014 Apr 2. — View Citation

Steinglass JE, Albano AM, Simpson HB, Wang Y, Zou J, Attia E, Walsh BT. Confronting fear using exposure and response prevention for anorexia nervosa: A randomized controlled pilot study. Int J Eat Disord. 2014 Mar;47(2):174-80. doi: 10.1002/eat.22214. Epub 2013 Nov 8. — View Citation

Steinglass JE, Sysko R, Glasofer D, Albano AM, Simpson HB, Walsh BT. Rationale for the application of exposure and response prevention to the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 2011 Mar;44(2):134-41. doi: 10.1002/eat.20784. Review. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Eating disorder symptoms are assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire	The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ), a self-reported measure, is assessed at multiple time points throughout the duration of the study and is used to examine the attitudes and behaviors in individuals with eating disorder symptoms.	Up to 12 Months