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Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Does It Bring About Improvements in Affect Regulation in Individuals with Eating Disorders?

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Abstract

The current investigation sought to determine whether a standard outpatient dose of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training (2 h per week) coupled with standard CBT treatment would be sufficient to produce changes in affect regulation over the course of day hospitalization treatment. In an uncontrolled pre-post treatment design, 65 women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa were assessed at the beginning of treatment and at the end of treatment on affect regulation. Findings indicated that participants demonstrated a significant improvement in their ability to regulate affect, suggesting that weekly DBT treatment may play an important role in producing changes in affect regulation. Secondary analyses on eating disorder outcomes revealed a significant increase in weight gain as well as a significant reduction in restriction, bingeing, purging and eating disordered cognitions. Findings are discussed in the context of clinical and treatment implications for those with severe eating disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Denise D. Ben-Porath

  2. Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Anita Federici, Lucene Wisniewski & Mark Warren

Authors
  1. Denise D. Ben-Porath
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  2. Anita Federici
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  3. Lucene Wisniewski
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  4. Mark Warren
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Correspondence to Denise D. Ben-Porath.

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Ben-Porath, D.D., Federici, A., Wisniewski, L. et al. Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Does It Bring About Improvements in Affect Regulation in Individuals with Eating Disorders?. J Contemp Psychother 44, 245–251 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-014-9271-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-014-9271-2

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