Preparing for Eating Disorders Treatment Through Compassionate Letter-Writing
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) seeks to lower shame and help people develop compassion for personal distress and shortcomings. There is increasing evidence to support the benefits of incorporating CFT-based interventions into the treatment of eating disorders (EDs). Building on the investigators' prior research, this study will examine the effects of a two-week CFT-based self-compassion letter-writing intervention on patients with eating disorders. Participants will be recruited from the wait-list of patients scheduled to begin treatment at the outpatient St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton Eating Disorders Program, and will be randomly assigned to the two-week letter-writing intervention or to a control group. Results will inform the integration of new empirically-derived interventions into ED treatments to improve the currently dismal rates of ED recovery.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
The study consists of two phases. In phase one, participants will be randomly assigned to a two-week daily letter-writing intervention condition or a two-week control condition; phase one will occur two to four weeks prior to the start date of group ED treatment. Participants will complete a brief set of online questionnaires pre-, mid-, and post- two-week condition (i.e. baseline, after one week, and after two weeks).
Following these two weeks of intervention/control condition, all participants will complete a 25-week group treatment program as scheduled by the Eating Disorders Program. For phase two of the study, participants will be asked to complete questionnaires after 5 weeks, after 11 weeks, and post-group treatment. Data that is routinely collected as part of patients' clinical care pre- and post-treatment (i.e. on the first day and last week of group treatment) will also be collected.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Self-compassionate letter-writing intervention An online self-compassionate letter-writing task once per day (10-20 minutes each) for 2 weeks |
Other: Self-compassionate letter-writing intervention
Participants in this condition will be asked to engage in an online self-compassionate letter-writing task once per day (10-20 minutes each) for 2 weeks.
|
| No Intervention: Control condition
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Weight- and Body-Related Shame and Guilt Scale (WEB-SG) [Change from baseline to post-2 weeks of intervention/control condition]
Self-report questionnaire with 12 questions on a 5-point Likert scale (scored 0-4). Total scores range from 0-48, with higher decrease in score indicative of a better outcome (i.e. higher decrease in levels of shame and guilt).
- Self-compassion Scale (short form; SCS-SF) [Change from baseline to post-2 weeks of intervention/control condition]
Self-report questionnaire with 12 questions on a 5-point Likert scale (scored 1-5). Total scores range from 12-60, with higher increase in score indicative of a better outcome (i.e. higher increase in levels of self-compassion).
- Readiness to Change Eating Behaviours [Change from baseline to post-2 weeks of intervention/control condition]
Self-report questionnaire with 3 questions on a 10-point Likert scale (scored 1-10). Total scores range from 3-30, with higher increase in score indicative of a better outcome (i.e. higher increase in readiness to change disordered eating behaviours).
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) [Change from day 1 to week 25 of group eating disorder treatment]
Self-report questionnaire with 28 questions, collecting two types of data. The EDE-Q collects frequency data of eating disorder behaviours. The EDE-Q also has four subscales assessing the severity of four aspects of ED psychopathology. These subscales are scored using 7-point Likert scales (scored 0-6). Higher decreases in scores are indicative of a better outcome (i.e. higher decreases in eating disorder symptomatology).
- Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) [Change from day 1 to week 25 of group eating disorder treatment]
Self-report questionnaire with 16 questions on a 4-point Likert scale (scored 0-3). Total scores range from 0-48, with higher decrease in score indicative of a better outcome (i.e. higher decrease in clinical impairment).
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
-
DSM-5 diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder
-
Eligible to start group eating disorders treatment at St. Joseph's Eating Disorder Program
-
17 years of age or older
Exclusion Criteria: None
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton | Hamilton | Ontario | Canada | L8N3K7 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University of Waterloo
- St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Allison Kelly, PhD, University of Waterloo
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
- Kelly AC, Carter JC, Zuroff DC, Borairi S. Self-compassion and fear of self-compassion interact to predict response to eating disorders treatment: a preliminary investigation. Psychother Res. 2013;23(3):252-64. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2012.717310. Epub 2012 Aug 24.
- Kelly AC, Waring SV. A feasibility study of a 2-week self-compassionate letter-writing intervention for nontreatment seeking individuals with typical and atypical anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 2018 Aug;51(8):1005-1009. doi: 10.1002/eat.22930. Epub 2018 Aug 13.
- Kelly AC, Wisniewski L, Martin-Wagar C, Hoffman E. Group-Based Compassion-Focused Therapy as an Adjunct to Outpatient Treatment for Eating Disorders: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2017 Mar;24(2):475-487. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2018. Epub 2016 May 30.
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