Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, or CBT, is the leading evidence-based treatment for adults with an eating disorder.
The research data indicates that about two-thirds of people who complete treatment make an excellent response. Patients who begin CBT at a more normal weight tend to do better. There is no reason why you should not be in this group so long as you throw yourself into treatment and give it priority.
The treatment is a one-to-one talking-type of treatment that primarily focuses on what is keeping the eating problem going. It is therefore mainly concerned with the present and future. It addresses the origins of the problem as needed. The treatment will be tailored to your specific eating problem and your needs. You and your therapist will need to become experts on your eating problem and what is keeping it going. Treatment will involve 20 - 40 sessions over 20 - 40 weeks plus one initial assessment session. Ideally the first sessions will be twice a week and the last three will be at two-week intervals.
It is important that there are as few breaks in treatment as possible. This is because we want to establish ‘momentum’ in which we work from session to session to break into your eating problem. Breaks in treatment are very disruptive as momentum is lost. It is especially important that there are no breaks in the first six weeks and no longer than two-week breaks thereafter. We need to take this into account when thinking when it would be best for your treatment to start.
You and your therapist will be working together as a team to help you overcome your eating problem. You and your therapist will agree upon specific tasks (or ‘next steps’) for you to undertake between each session. These tasks are very important and will need to be given priority. It is what you do between sessions that will govern to a large extent how much you benefit from treatment.
It is really important that you make the most of this opportunity to change, otherwise the problem is likely to persist. Treatment will be hard work but it will be worth it. The more you put in, the more you will get out.
- adapted from Chris Fairburn: Cognitive Behaviour and Eating Disorders.
The research data indicates that about two-thirds of people who complete treatment make an excellent response. Patients who begin CBT at a more normal weight tend to do better. There is no reason why you should not be in this group so long as you throw yourself into treatment and give it priority.
The treatment is a one-to-one talking-type of treatment that primarily focuses on what is keeping the eating problem going. It is therefore mainly concerned with the present and future. It addresses the origins of the problem as needed. The treatment will be tailored to your specific eating problem and your needs. You and your therapist will need to become experts on your eating problem and what is keeping it going. Treatment will involve 20 - 40 sessions over 20 - 40 weeks plus one initial assessment session. Ideally the first sessions will be twice a week and the last three will be at two-week intervals.
It is important that there are as few breaks in treatment as possible. This is because we want to establish ‘momentum’ in which we work from session to session to break into your eating problem. Breaks in treatment are very disruptive as momentum is lost. It is especially important that there are no breaks in the first six weeks and no longer than two-week breaks thereafter. We need to take this into account when thinking when it would be best for your treatment to start.
You and your therapist will be working together as a team to help you overcome your eating problem. You and your therapist will agree upon specific tasks (or ‘next steps’) for you to undertake between each session. These tasks are very important and will need to be given priority. It is what you do between sessions that will govern to a large extent how much you benefit from treatment.
It is really important that you make the most of this opportunity to change, otherwise the problem is likely to persist. Treatment will be hard work but it will be worth it. The more you put in, the more you will get out.
- adapted from Chris Fairburn: Cognitive Behaviour and Eating Disorders.
