Is enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy an effective intervention in eating disorders? A review.

In this study the author reviews the current empirical research regarding Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) in the treatment of the full range of eating disorders (EDs): anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified. All peer-reviewed outcome studies identified through electronic bibliographic databases and manual searches of article reference lists are reviewed. A total of six studies (n = 6) were found. The author reports the results of these studies consisting of open-trials of CBT-E applied to different ED diagnoses, comparing two forms of CBT-E (focused and broad) to waitlist, and comparing CBT-E plus Motivation Focused Therapy. There is evidence to support the use of CBT-E for the treatment of EDs; however, this evidence is tentative as CBT-E is still in its early phases of empirical testing. No trials found CBT-E to be ineffective. Although these research designs are not randomized control trials, these results are promising for ED research. There are few efficacious treatments for EDs, especially for those with "chronic" EDs and adults with anorexia nervosa. CBT-E is one of the first interventions that focuses on particular symptomatic behaviors of EDs manifested in individual clients rather than treating ED diagnoses generically.

Post disaster resilience: Racially different correlates of depression symptoms among hurricane Katrina-Rita volunteers.

The present analyses examined the differential risks of and protective factors against depressive symptoms of African American and Non-Hispanic White American student volunteers, respectively after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (H-KR). A total sample of 554 student volunteers were recruited from mental health professional programs at five universities located in the Deep South, namely areas severely impacted by H-KR during fall semester 2005. The response rate was 91% (n = 505). African American respondents (n = 299) and Non-Hispanic White Americans (n = 206) completed the survey questionnaires. Respondents retrospectively provided information on peritraumatic emotional reactions and previous trauma that were recalled by H-KR and H-KR stressors. African American respondents reported higher levels of depressive symptoms (65.2%) than their Non-Hispanic White counterparts (34.8%). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that disaster related stressors affected African Americans (p < 0.001), but not Non-Hispanic Whites. However, African Americans who experienced peritraumatic positive emotions had lower depression levels. Lower rates of recollection of prior traumas during H-KR were reported by African American respondents, whereas previous trauma recollections predicted symptoms among Non-Hispanic White Americans (p < 0.05). Exhibiting more optimism had lower depression levels among Non-Hispanic White Americans. Peritraumatic negative emotion was the only shared risk for depressive symptoms of both groups. Findings underscore racially different levels of depressive symptoms that may contribute to varying degrees of resilience among student volunteers. Future research and practice may address these racial differences by understanding the risk factors for depressive symptoms to develop appropriate interventions for racial groups, and cultivating the protective factors that contribute to resilience from traumatic experiences.