Individuals' experiences of CBT to treat bulimia nervosa
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative study exploring individuals' experiences of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa
IRAS ID
318011
Contact name
Anne-Mairead Folan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of the West of England
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious eating disorder and mental illness. BN is characterised by a cycle of eating large quantities of food (bingeing) and subsequently attempting to compensate for that through over-exercising, taking laxatives, intentionally vomiting, and/or fasting for an excessive period of time following the binge.
Recovery from eating disorders is possible. However, defining recovery in the context of eating disorders is challenging. Physical and behavioural displays such as maintaining a healthy body weight, the absence of bingeing and purging, and the lack of laxative use are indications that an individual may be recovered from BN. However, studies have reported that even in the instance when these types of physical and behavioural displays are no longer present in an individual, they can continue to have unhealthy feelings and attitudes towards food and weight.
NICE recommended that future eating disorder research explore how treatment benefits are maintained following successful treatment. Research in the field of anorexia nervosa has been conducted. However, there is a lack of research in the field of BN and recovery from BN which focuses on individuals’ experiences with treatment and how treatment and relapse prevention programmes may have impacted their recovery, or their relapse.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a leading treatment for BN and may be carried out in a variety of formats, e.g., online, in groups, and one-to-one.
Through carrying out semi-structured interviews with individuals who have had CBT for BN, this research aims to explore participants’ experiences with recovery (or relapse) from BN – i.e., the type of CBT they had, if they had undergone any relapse prevention intervention, any comorbidities that may be present, their demographics and the factors associated with treatment relapse and maintenance.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EM/0268
Date of REC Opinion
8 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion