Remote psychoeducation for eating disorders: An exploratory study during lockdown

Abstract

Introduction With increasing prevalence, eating disorders (EDs) constitute a public health problem. Access to treatment is limited and often delayed for the majority of patients. Such obstacles might be mitigated via the development of virtual treatments. Objectives Conducted during COVID-19 lockdown, this pilot study aimed to explore the feasibility and preliminary clinical outcomes associated with treatment of EDs by means of a remote psychoeducational (PE) programme. Methods Eleven patients who fulfilled DSM‐5 criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder completed assessments, including ED symptoms, anxiety and depression, as well as motivation to change measures at the beginning and end of the time-limited (4 weeks) specialized treatment. It consisted in receiving 4 PE documents by email (1 per week), which was completed by a 15-20 minutes phone call with each participant (1 per week). Results Data showed significant improvements of several self‐reported eating disorder symptoms, including body dissatisfaction and intensity of bulimic episodes. Conclusions Our findings suggest that a time-limited remote PE intervention produces clinically meaningful changes in ED symptoms. Thus, it might be worth developing such interventions in a clinical context, especially when performed prior to higher level of care. Further research is required to evaluate optimised interventions using a more diverse sample from a plurality of treatment facilities and context of care, as well as research in a non-pandemic setting which may have impacted these exploratory study results. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• psychoeducational intervention
• remote intervention
• eating disorders