Adapting Exposure for Adolescent AN

Study Summary

This pilot study is evaluating Exposure Therapy (Exp-AN) as a virtual treatment for adolescents (ages 14 - 17 years) with anorexia nervosa (AN) recruited from eating disorder clinic waitlists and clinician referrals at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (8 participants per site). Adolescents who agree to take part in this study will receive 20 free virtual 40-60 minute weekly Exp-AN sessions at an outpatient level of care. Exp-AN for adolescents will combine individual virtual session time (35-50 min) with parent involvement (10-25 min). Parents will serve as "collaborators," supporting skill development, exposure completion, and treatment goal achievement. Exp-AN sessions will focus on helping participants overcome anxiety about weight gain by encouraging them to do challenging things that increase anxiety in the short term but help them better tolerate anxiety over the long term. Participants will be asked to complete a clinical interview, questionnaires, and labs and vitals testing before they begin the study. Adolescents will also complete questionnaires and participate in 15-min semi-structured interviews, while parents/caregivers will complete separate parallel interviews, at: mid-treatment, end-of-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. To ensure that all participants are receiving the same type of therapy, they will not be able to have any concurrent psychotherapy while receiving this treatment (other forms of care including dieticians, nutritionists, and psychiatrists are allowed). Exp-AN is designed to target anxiety about weight gain. Exp-AN includes education about the effects of undereating; the importance of overcoming anxiety about weight gain; in-session weight exposures (e.g., stepping on a scale while reading a script describing fears about weight gain); creating a meal plan to help improve eating; reviewing eating behaviors over the past week; conducting in-session and between-session

Primary Outcome

The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is a 28-item self-report questionnaire. It was designed to assess the range, frequency, and severity of behaviors associated with a diagnosis of an eating disorder. A global score is obtained by summing the four subscales scores (ranging from 0-6) and dividing the total by the number of subscales (4). The score of items are calculated and range from 0 to 6. The higher score indicate greater ED symptoms.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Exposure Therapy for Anorexia (Exp-AN)

Study Locations (1)