Inpatient Exposure Therapy and Response Prevention & Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Trial

Official title: Randomized Controlled Trial of Inpatient Exposure Therapy and Response Prevention for Anorexia Nervosa

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Exposure and response prevention (AN-EXRP) will help individuals with anorexia nervosa improve their eating behavior.

Clinical Trial Description

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious illness associated with substantial morbidity and a mortality rate among the highest of any psychiatric illness. The rate of relapse is disturbingly high, with up to 50% of patients requiring re-hospitalization within a year of discharge. Current treatments are inadequate in helping older adolescents and adults achieve sustained recovery. Importantly, eating behavior remains disturbed after weight restoration: patients demonstrate restrictive eating in their self-selected foods and in standardized meals, and caloric intake in standardized meals is inversely related to pre-meal anxiety. Emerging data suggest that eating behavior is particularly important in post-hospital course, and that significantly altering eating behavior is critical in improving outcome for these individuals. Furthermore, caloric intake in standardized meals has been shown to be related to pre-meal anxiety. This study evaluates the potential utility of two psychotherapeutic interventions in improving eating behavior prior to hospital discharge. Each individual receives, in random order, Cognitive Remediation Therapy for 4 weeks and Exposure and Response Prevention for AN for 4 weeks. The investigators hypothesize that these interventions will lead to improvement in eating behavior, measured by food diaries and standardized meals. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anorexia
• Anorexia Nervosa

• NCT number: NCT01174602
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: New York State Psychiatric Institute
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 2009
• Completion date: October 2014