Emotion regulation strategies in bulimia nervosa: an experimental investigation of mindfulness, self-compassion, and cognitive restructuring.

BACKGROUND: While improving emotion regulation (ER) is a central goal in the therapy of bulimia nervosa (BN), there is no experimental evidence on the efficacy of different ER strategies. (1) We hypothesized that mindfulness as well as self-compassion as contextual strategies and cognitive restructuring as classical cognitive behavioral strategy would outperform waiting in improving emotional and eating disorder related outcomes after an unpleasant mood induction. Further, we explored (2) whether contextual strategies outperformed cognitive restructuring and (3) whether comorbid mental disorders and previous treatment for BN influenced the efficacy of contextual ER strategies compared to cognitive restructuring. METHODS: Within their first 2 weeks of treatment, inpatients with BN were instructed to utilize mindfulness, self-compassion, and cognitive restructuring or to wait after a pre-induced sadness in a permuted repeated measures design. Patients further rated different emotional and cognitive outcomes on a visual analogue scale at baseline, and before and after each ER strategy. Multiple linear regression analyses were employed to compare (1) the active conditions to waiting, (2) the contextual strategies with cognitive restructuring, and (3) the latter analysis again, but separated according to comorbidity and previous treatment. RESULTS: Forty-eight female inpatients with BN (mean age = 26.44 years, SD = 6.64) completed the study. (1) Contextual ER strategies were more efficacious than waiting for eating disorder symptoms. Cognitive restructuring did not differ from waiting for any outcome. (2) Contextual strategies were more efficacious than cognitive restructuring for emotional outcomes. (3) Self-compassion was more efficacious than cognitive restructuring in patients with comorbid mental disorders and previous treatment in increasing control over the present feeling. CONCLUSIONS: Contextual strategies, especially self-compassion, seem more efficacious than waiting and cognitive restructuring in improving short-term ER in patients with BN in an experimental setting.

Affect regulation training reduces symptom severity in depression - A randomized controlled trial.

Deficits in general emotion regulation skills have been shown to be associated with various mental disorders. Thus, general affect-regulation training has been proposed as promising transdiagnostic approach to the treatment of psychopathology. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a general affect-regulation as a stand-alone, group-based treatment for depression. For this purpose, we randomly assigned 218 individuals who met criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) to the Affect Regulation Training (ART), to a waitlist control condition (WLC), or to a condition controlling for common factors (CFC). The primary outcome was the course of depressive symptom severity as assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Beck Depression Inventory. Multi-level analyses indicated that participation in ART was associated with a greater reduction of depressive symptom severity than was participation in WLC (d = 0.56), whereas the slight superiority of ART over CFC (d = 0.25) was not statistically significant. Mediation analyses indicated that changes in emotion regulation skills mediated the differences between ART/CFC and WLC. Thus, the findings provide evidence for enhancing emotion regulation skills as a common mechanism of change in psychological treatments for depression. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01330485) and was supported by grants from the German Research Association (DFG; BE 4510/3-1; HI 456/6-2). Future research should compare the (cost-) efficacy of ART with that of disorder-specific interventions.

[Pathways to Care and Duration of Untreated Illness of Inpatients with Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa]. / Wege in die Versorgung und Behandlungslatenzen bei stationären Patienten mit Anorexia und Bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate pathways to care and duration of untreated illness of inpatients with eating disorders. METHODS: 206 patients were assessed using a self-developed questionnaire. RESULTS: On average, the delay between the onset of the eating disorder and treatment initiation was up to five years. The diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, a higher age and lack of problem perception predicted a higher duration of untreated illness. CONCLUSION: Duration of untreated illness should be reduced by adequate interventions in order to prevent chronification.

Common change factors and mediation of the alliance-outcome link during treatment of depression.

OBJECTIVE: Alliance, Mastery/Self-Efficacy, Problem Actualization, and Problem Clarification exemplify common or nonspecific factors of change in psychotherapy (Grawe, 1997). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that other change factors mediate the alliance-outcome link on a within-person level over the treatment course. METHOD: Our sample consisted of 193 patients with major depression undergoing intensive inpatient cognitive-behavioral-based therapy. Each week, we assessed depressive symptoms (using the Beck Depression Inventory-II) and change factors during individual therapy. Multilevel mediation models were used to test our hypothesis. RESULTS: As expected, within-person change in Alliance (differentiated into Emotional Bond and Contentment with the Therapist) as well as Mastery/Self-Efficacy and Problem Clarification predicted symptom change over the course of therapy. Moreover, the relation between Contentment with the Therapist and subsequent change in depression was mediated by increased Mastery/Self-Efficacy on a within-person level. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that within-person change of alliance and other general change factors precede symptom change in depressive patients, and that the link between alliance and outcome may be partially mediated by enhanced Mastery/Self-Efficacy. Future studies should further elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the alliance-outcome link. (PsycINFO Database Record

Intensive inpatient treatment for bulimia nervosa: Statistical and clinical significance of symptom changes.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the statistical and clinical significance of symptom changes during an intensive inpatient treatment program with a strong psychotherapeutic focus for individuals with severe bulimia nervosa. METHOD: 295 consecutively admitted bulimic patients were administered the Structured Interview for Anorexic and Bulimic Syndromes-Self-Rating (SIAB-S), the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at treatment intake and discharge. RESULTS: Results indicated statistically significant symptom reductions with large effect sizes regarding severity of binge eating and compensatory behavior (SIAB-S), overall eating disorder symptom severity (EDI-2), overall psychopathology (BSI), and depressive symptom severity (BDI-II) even when controlling for antidepressant medication. The majority of patients showed either reliable (EDI-2: 33.7%, BSI: 34.8%, BDI-II: 18.1%) or even clinically significant symptom changes (EDI-2: 43.2%, BSI: 33.9%, BDI-II: 56.9%). Patients with clinically significant improvement were less distressed at intake and less likely to suffer from a comorbid borderline personality disorder when compared with those who did not improve to a clinically significant extent. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that intensive psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment may be effective in about 75% of severely affected bulimic patients. For the remaining non-responding patients, inpatient treatment might be improved through an even stronger focus on the reduction of comorbid borderline personality traits.

Usability and Naturalness of Videoconference-Based Exposure and Response Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder at the Patients' Homes: A Pilot Study.

The treatment of choice for obsessive-compulsive disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy, including exposure and response prevention (ERP). Therapist-supervised ERP is more effective than self-controlled ERP, and exposure should take place at the patient's home. This standard might be achieved with ERPs at home via videoconference supervision from the therapist. The aim of this study was to (a) assess the usability and naturalness of videoconference exposure and (b) to compare it with face-to-face exposure at an inpatient clinic and exposure at home alone regarding therapeutic alliance, patients' expectancies, and credibility of the treatment and an overall rating of the exposure session. Mean differences and effect sizes suggested a slight general advantage of videoconference-based ERP and the interaction with the therapist felt natural to the participants. The technical system was rated as medium usable, suggesting a need for better training.

Weight Suppression But Not Symptom Improvement Predicts Weight Gain During Inpatient Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Fear of gaining weight is a common obstacle to seeking treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN). We investigated changes in body mass index (BMI) during inpatient treatment for BN in relation to treatment outcome and weight suppression (WS). METHODS: Female inpatients of a specialized eating disorders clinic were grouped as deteriorated/unchanged, reliably improved, and clinically significantly improved based on Eating Disorder Inventory-2 scores. Repeated measures ANOVA was employed to examine changes in BMI between admission and discharge depending on treatment outcome and WS. RESULTS: One-hundred seventy-nine patients were included. Overall, the average BMI significantly increased by 0.54 kg/m2 (SD = 1.24). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no association of change in BMI with treatment outcome [F(df) = 1.13 (2166), p = 0.327] but with WS [F(df) = 2.76 (3166), p < 0.044]. DISCUSSION: Bulimia nervosa can be successfully treated without causing excessive weight gain. Patients with higher WS might expect somewhat more weight gain. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Adaptive emotion regulation mediates the relationship between self-compassion and depression in individuals with unipolar depression.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the mechanisms involved in the association between self-compassion and depression, we examined whether adaptive emotion regulation would mediate the relationship between self-compassion and depression in individuals with unipolar depression. Furthermore, we explored which specific emotion regulation skills would be most important in this relationship. DESIGN AND METHOD: Sixty-nine individuals with unipolar depression were assessed with the Self-Compassion Scale and the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire at baseline and with the Beck Depression Inventory-II 1 week later. RESULTS: The results showed that successful application of emotion regulation skills mediates the association between self-compassion and depression. Among eight specific emotion regulation skills, only the ability to tolerate negative emotions was identified as a significant mediator in the self-compassion-depression relationship. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preliminary evidence that systematically fostering self-compassion might help depressed individuals cope with their symptoms by enhancing their abilities to tolerate undesired emotions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Systematically fostering self-compassion through specific compassion-focused interventions might facilitate a reduction in depressive symptoms by improving the person's emotion regulation abilities, especially by improving his or her ability to tolerate negative emotions. Hence, compassion-focused interventions might be particularly promising in depressed patients with a tendency to avoid negative emotions and deficits in tolerating them.

Change in obsessive beliefs as predictor and mediator of symptom change during treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder - a process-outcome study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder suggest that changes in obsessive beliefs are a key mechanism of treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Thus, in the present process-outcome study, we tested whether changes in obsessive beliefs during a primarily cognitive behavioral inpatient treatment predicted treatment outcome and whether these changes mediated symptom changes over the course of treatment. METHODS: Seventy-one consecutively admitted inpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder were assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire at treatment intake, after six weeks of treatment and at discharge, and with the Beck-Depression-Inventory-II at intake and discharge. RESULTS: Changes in obsessive beliefs during the first six weeks of treatment predicted obsessive-compulsive symptoms at discharge when controlling for obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms at intake in a hierarchical regression analysis. Multilevel mediation analyses showed that reductions in obsessive beliefs partially mediated improvements in obsessive-compulsive symptoms over time. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that decreasing obsessive beliefs in inpatient cognitive behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder might be a promising treatment approach.

Self-compassion enhances the efficacy of explicit cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy in individuals with major depressive disorder.

Cognitive reappraisal has been shown to be an effective strategy to regulate depressed mood in healthy and remitted depressed individuals. However, individuals currently suffering from a clinical depression often experience difficulties in utilizing this strategy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine whether the efficacy of explicit cognitive reappraisal in major depressive disorder can be enhanced through the use of self-compassion and emotion-focused acceptance as preparatory strategies. Thereby, explicit cognitive reappraisal refers to purposefully identifying, challenging, and modifying depressiogenic cognitions to reduce depressed mood. To test our hypotheses, we induced depressed mood at four points in time in 54 participants (64.8% female; age M = 35.59, SD = 11.49 years) meeting criteria for major depressive disorder. After each mood induction, participants were instructed to either wait, or employ self-compassion, acceptance, or reappraisal to regulate their depressed mood. Depressed mood was assessed before and after each mood induction and regulation period on a visual analog scale. Results indicated that participants who had utilized self-compassion as a preparatory strategy experienced a significantly greater reduction of depressed mood during reappraisal than did those who had been instructed to wait prior to reappraisal. Participants who had used acceptance as a preparatory strategy did not experience a significantly greater reduction of depressed mood during subsequent reappraisal than those in the waiting condition. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the efficacy of explicit cognitive reappraisal is moderated by the precursory use of other emotion regulation strategies. In particular, they suggest that depressed individuals might benefit from using self-compassion to facilitate the subsequent use of explicit cognitive reappraisal.

Inpatient Treatment for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Significance and Predictors of Treatment Outcome.

This study evaluated the clinical significance as well as predictors of outcome for adolescents with severe anorexia nervosa (AN) treated in an inpatient setting. Body mass index (BMI), eating disorder (ED) symptoms [Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2)], general psychopathology and depression were assessed in 238 patients at admission and discharge. BMI increased from 14.8 + 1.2 to 17.3 + 1.4 kg/m(2). Almost a fourth (23.6%) of the patients showed reliable changes, and 44.7% showed clinically significant changes (EDI-2). BMI change did not significantly differ between those with reliable or clinically significant change or no reliable change in EDI-2. Length of stay, depression and body dissatisfaction were negative predictors of a clinically significant change. Inpatient treatment is effective in about two thirds of adolescents with AN and should be considered when outpatient treatment fails. About one third of patients showed significant weight gain, but did not improve regarding overall ED symptomatology. Future studies should focus on treatment strategies for non-responders.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: a current review.

This review provides a current overview on the diagnostics, epidemiology, co-occurrences, aetiology and treatment of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). The diagnostic criteria for OCPD according to the recently published Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) include an official set of criteria for clinical practice and a new, alternative set of criteria for research purposes. OCPD is a personality disorder prevalent in the general population (3-8 %) that is more common in older and less educated individuals. Findings on sex distribution and course of OCPD are inconsistent. OCPD is comorbid with several other medical and psychological conditions. As for causes of OCPD, most empirical evidence provides support for disturbed attachment as well as the heritability of OCPD. So far, cognitive (behavioural) therapy is the best validated treatment of OCPD. Self-esteem variability, stronger early alliances as well as the distress level seem to predict cognitive (behavioural) therapy outcome. Future research is needed to further advance knowledge in OCPD and to resolve inconsistencies.

Self-compassion as an emotion regulation strategy in major depressive disorder.

Cognitive reappraisal and acceptance are two presumably adaptive emotion regulation strategies in depression. More recently, self-compassion has been discussed as another potentially effective strategy for coping with depression. In the present study, we compared the effectiveness of self-compassion with a waiting condition, reappraisal, and acceptance in a clinically depressed sample, and tested the hypothesis that the intensity of depressed mood would moderate the differential efficacy of these strategies. In an experimental design, we induced depressed mood at four points in time in 48 participants meeting criteria for major depressive disorder. After each mood induction, participants were instructed to wait, reappraise the situation, accept their negative emotions, or employ self-compassion to regulate their depressed mood. Self-ratings of depressed mood were assessed before and after each mood induction and regulation phase. Results showed that the reduction of depressed mood was significantly greater in the self-compassion condition than in the waiting condition. No significant differences were observed between the self-compassion and the reappraisal condition, and between the self-compassion and the acceptance condition in patients' mood ratings. However, the intensity of self-rated depressed mood at baseline was found to moderate the comparative effectiveness of self-compassion and reappraisal with a trend of self-compassion being more effective than reappraisal in high depressed mood at baseline. These findings support the use of self-compassion as another adaptive emotion regulation strategy for patients with major depressive disorder, especially for those suffering from high levels of depressed mood.