Therapeutic Alliance in Family-Based Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: In-Person Versus Telehealth.

OBJECTIVE: The therapeutic alliance is broadly linked with positive outcomes. However, nearly all research in this area involves in-person therapy, whereas teletherapy has grown increasing common since the COVID-19 pandemic. There is now a pressing need to establish whether the nature and importance of the therapeutic alliance is impacted by teletherapy. This study examined therapeutic alliance in families of youth with anorexia nervosa who were participating in a randomized controlled trial that transitioned from in-person to telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: We analysed data from 53 adolescents and their parents (20 began in-person, 33 began with telehealth). Both parents, youth and therapist completed the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised after 4 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: We found no significant differences across telehealth and in-person treatment for paternal or therapist reported data. However, both adolescents and mothers reported higher bond and goal-related alliance for in-person sessions compared to telehealth. CONCLUSIONS: Findings regarding alliance across telehealth and in-person sessions were mixed, with some preference among mothers and youth for in-person treatment. Future studies should determine whether possible adaptations can improve working alliance during family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa via telehealth.

A clinical trial protocol of a single-session self-guided acceptance-based online intervention targeting food cravings as predictors of disordered eating in pregnant people.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a time of heightened risk for disordered eating behaviors, which are linked to adverse health outcomes in gestation, delivery, and the postpartum. These adverse outcomes may be partially mediated by greater rates of deviation from recommended weight gain trajectories, especially in those who engage in binge and loss of control (LOC) eating. Food cravings are powerful and highly modifiable triggers of binge and LOC eating in non-pregnant populations with preliminary evidence linking cravings to disordered eating behaviors in pregnancy as well. Acceptance-based approaches have been shown to be feasible and effective in reducing the adverse impact of cravings on behavior. PURPOSE: To test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a single-session, self-guided, acceptance-based online workshop targeting food cravings as predictors of binge and LOC eating in pregnancy. METHODS: We will conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial of a single-session, self-guided online acceptance-based workshop targeting food cravings in pregnancy. Pregnant individuals in the second trimester (n ≥ 74) endorsing current food cravings will be randomly assigned to the intervention or an untreated control group. The intervention group will participate in a one-hour workshop that imparts skills grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, including acceptance, defusion, and present-moment awareness. Both groups will complete comprehensive self-report assessments of primary outcomes and hypothesized mediators and moderators of intervention efficacy at baseline, one-month follow-up, and at full-term. CONCLUSION: Results will inform integration of acceptance-based skills targeting food cravings into routine prenatal care to prevent adverse outcomes associated with disordered eating behaviors in pregnancy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06129461; registered on November 10, 2023.

Factor structure of the Eating Disorder Flexibility Index in U.S. nonclinical collegiate and clinical adolescent samples.

Cognitive and behavioral inflexibility are transdiagnostic maintaining mechanisms of varied psychopathologies, including eating disorders (ED). The Eating Disorder Flexibility Index (EDFLIX) is the only psychometrically validated self-report measure of general and ED-specific flexibility in the published literature. The EDFLIX was originally developed in Scandinavian adult clinical and healthy control samples but is increasingly used in its English version in other populations, including adolescent and nonclinical samples, raising questions about its validity and reliability in diverse groups. This study examined the factor structure of the previously published English EDFLIX in undergraduates (n = 578, 57.6 % female, 50.2 % White). Parallel and exploratory factor analysis suggested the EDFLIX may comprise two or three underlying factors. However, follow-up confirmatory factor analyses from nonclinical student and clinical ED-diagnosed (n = 69, 87.0 % female, 91.3 % White) samples did not support either model. Further, EDFLIX scores did not correlate with established neuropsychological measures of cognitive flexibility typically used in prior research on flexibility in EDs. Findings suggest the EDFLIX has poor psychometric properties in certain groups and may not capture underlying aspects of flexibility as previously proposed. Future research should explore alternative versions of the EDFLIX along with its psychometric properties across various samples.

The importance of improving cognitive flexibility in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: The case for cognitive remediation therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Inefficiencies in executive functioning (EF), more specifically cognitive flexibility and an overly detailed processing style, are frequently observed in individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and have been identified as potential targets in treatment. Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) is an adjunctive treatment approach specifically designed to have a positive impact on EF. Mainly evaluated in adults, CRT has been criticized for its perceived ineffectiveness in promoting weight restoration or directly reducing eating disorder symptoms. METHOD: We argue that we need to refocus our conceptual framework for using CRT as an adjunctive treatment and specifically explore its potential benefit in adolescents. RESULTS: Adolescence is a critical window for EF development during which CRT has the potential to have the most impact. While it may not specifically ameliorate eating disorder symptoms and directly improve weight gain, CRT may mitigate the impact of malnutrition on adolescent brain development, reduce attrition rates in treatment, and improve cognitive flexibility and (indirectly) other maintaining factors, thereby improving global functioning. DISCUSSION: More research needs to be done to understand the development of EF in adolescents with AN and how best to employ CRT as an adjunctive treatment to support development and target maintaining factors. The current article broadly reviews findings on executive functioning inefficiencies in adolescents with AN and discusses the purpose and role of CRT in treating AN. Finally, we highlight key critiques of using CRT and pose questions for future research. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Treatments targeting executive functioning in adolescents with AN are limited. We need to better understand how CRT can benefit adolescents in treatment. Increasing treatment options, including adjunctive treatments, is necessary to reduce the long-term impact of AN.

Clinical characterization of Co-morbid autoimmune disease and eating disorders: a retrospective chart review.

Research suggests a link between autoimmune illnesses (AI) and eating disorders (ED). We retrospectively reviewed charts of adolescent patients presenting for eating disorder treatment. We compared the presentation and treatment course for those with an ED and comorbid AI [with (GI-AI, N = 59) or without (non-GI, N = 21) gastrointestinal inflammation] with matched ED-only cases. The sample was overwhelmingly female, with an average age of 15.40. Weight gain trajectories differed across groups, with similar rates of weight gain between controls and non GI-AI cases and with a lower rate of weight gain for individuals with comorbid GI-AI. Over half (56%) of patients reported an AI diagnosis prior to ED; 38% reported an AI diagnosis following ED, and 6% reported ED and AI simultaneous diagnosis. On presentation, ED-only controls had higher rates of comorbid anxiety than cases in either AI group, while those with non-GI AI were more likely to report depression. Mean total GI symptoms, % goal weight at presentation, vital sign instability, and markers of refeeding syndrome did not differ across groups. Health care professionals treating patients with either condition should have a low threshold for asking additional questions to identify the presence of the other condition.

The buffet challenge: a behavioral assessment of eating behavior in adolescents with an eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Eating disorders are characterized by disturbances in nutritional intake and abnormal mealtime behaviors. Laboratory eating paradigms offer a unique opportunity to accurately measure dietary intake and eating behaviors, however, these studies have predominantly occurred in adults. This paper describes the development and preliminary psychometric examination of the Buffet Challenge, a laboratory-based meal task for youths with an eating disorder. METHOD: We recruited and assessed 56 participants as part of a randomized controlled trial of Family-Based Treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Adolescents completed the Buffet Challenge at baseline, midway through treatment (~ week 16 of a 6 months course), and end of treatment. Participants and their parents also reported eating disorder symptomatology and treatment related variables of interest were recorded. RESULTS: All adolescents were willing to complete the Buffet Challenge at all time points, although one refused to give up their cellphone, and there were no significant adverse events recorded. Preliminary results are presented. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial pilot of this task in adolescents with anorexia nervosa demonstrates its acceptability, although investigation of our hypotheses was hindered by significant missing data due to COVID-related research shutdowns. Future studies should replicate procedures in a larger sample to ensure analyses are adequately powered.

Impact of virtual adjunctive cognitive remediation therapy on cognitive flexibility and treatment outcomes in comorbid anorexia nervosa and exercise dependence as quantified using novel biomarkers: A stage 1 registered report.

OBJECTIVE: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with significant individual mental and physical suffering and public health burden and fewer than half of patients recover fully with current treatments. Comorbid exercise dependence (ExD) is common in AN and associated with significantly worse symptom severity and treatment outcomes. Research points to cognitive inflexibility as a prominent executive function inefficiency and transdiagnostic etiologic and maintaining mechanism linking AN and ExD. This study will evaluate the initial efficacy of adjunctive Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT), which has been shown to produce cognitive improvements in adults with AN, in targeting cognitive inflexibility in individuals with comorbid AN and ExD. As an exploratory aim, this study also addresses the current lack of quick and cost-effective assessments of cognitive flexibility by establishing the utility of two proposed biomarkers, heart rate variability and salivary oxytocin. METHOD: We will conduct a single-group, within-subjects trial of an established CRT protocol delivered remotely as an adjunct to inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment as usual (TAU) to adult patients (n = 42) with comorbid AN and ExD. Assessments, including self-report, neuropsychological, and biomarker measurements, will occur at three time points. RESULTS: We expect CRT to increase cognitive flexibility transdiagnostically and consequently, along with TAU, positively impact AN and ExD compulsivity and symptom severity, including weight gain. DISCUSSION: Findings will inform the development of more effective integrative interventions for AN and ExD targeting shared mechanisms and facilitate the routine assessment of cognitive flexibility as a transdiagnostic risk and maintaining factor across psychopathologies in clinical and research settings. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Patients with anorexia nervosa often engage in excessive exercise, leading to harmful outcomes, including increased suicidal behavior. This study examines the preliminary efficacy of an intervention that fosters flexible and holistic thinking in patients with problematic eating and exercise to, along with routine treatment, decrease harmful exercise symptoms. This study also examines new biological markers of the inflexible thinking style thought to be characteristic of anorexia nervosa and exercise dependence.

Not so terrifying after all? A set of failed replications of the mortality salience effects of Terror Management Theory.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) postulates that humans, in response to awareness of their death, developed complex defenses to remove the salience and discomfort stemming from those thoughts. In a standard paradigm to test this theory, an individual is presented with a death-related prime (Mortality Salience; MS), such as writing the details of their own death, or something neutral, such as watching television. After a distractor task (for delay), participants complete the dependent variable, such as rating how much they like or agree with a pro- or anti-national essay and its author. Individuals in the MS condition typically exhibit greater worldview defense than control conditions by rating the pro-national essay more positively and the anti-national essay more negatively. We completed five separate studies across five unique samples with the goal of replicating and extending this well-established pattern to provide further understanding of the phenomena that underlie the effects of MS. However, despite using standard procedures, we were unable to replicate basic patterns of the dependent variable in the MS conditions. We also pooled all responses into two meta-analyses, one examining all dependent variables and one focusing on the anti-national essay; yet the effect sizes in these analyses did not significantly differ from zero. We discuss the methodological and theoretical implications of these (unintended) failures to replicate. It is not clear if these null findings were due to methodological limitations, restraints of online/crowd-sourced recruitment, or ever-evolving sociocultural factors.

Modifying an Open Science Online Grocery for parents of youth with anorexia nervosa: A proof-of-concept study.

OBJECTIVE: For youth with anorexia nervosa (AN), remission requires high caloric goals to achieve weight restoration, consumption of a wide variety of calorically dense foods, and reintroduction of eliminated foods. Family-based treatment (FBT), the gold-standard treatment for youth with AN, empowers parents to renourish their child and restore them to health; yet, parents often report struggling with shifting meal planning and grocery shopping behaviors to focus on nutritional rehabilitation and weight restoration. METHODS: This proof-of-concept study aimed to modify a simulated grocery store (Open Science Online Grocery [OSOG]) for parents of youth with AN and explore the acceptability and feasibility of its use as part of standard care. Study staff collaborated with six parent research partners to modify the OSOG prior to piloting it with participants. Participants were 10 parents of youth undergoing a first-time hospitalization for medical stabilization of AN or atypical AN. Parents completed a battery of measures and a semistructured interview assessing the acceptability and feasibility of OSOG. RESULTS: Parents described the tool as credible and acceptable. Qualitative feedback highlighted common themes of caregiver burden, nutrition education, and acceptability of the tool. DISCUSSION: Results point to the need for more work in supporting parents in Phase I of FBT. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Families are instrumental in supporting youth to recover from anorexia nervosa. During treatment, parents are charged with selecting and serving their adolescent's meals, often requiring them to change grocery shopping and food preparation habits to meet their child's high caloric needs. Parents reported feeling overwhelmed by this task and noted struggling with learning different approaches to nourish their adolescent during an already stressful time. Collaboratively with parents, we modified a tool to support parents in shifting thier shopping habits, which they reported as being a helpful springboard in the early phase of treatment.

Adaptations of cognitive remediation therapy for adolescents with anorexia nervosa for delivery via telehealth.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic hastened a transition to treatment delivery via telehealth. While barriers still exist, the increased uptake of telehealth has the potential to increase access to mental health treatment for all diagnoses, including eating disorders. Delivery of evidence-based treatment as well as adjunctive treatments, including those that are hard to find in-person, have been modified to virtual format to increase accessibility and allow for continuity of care for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. METHOD: We describe how to modify and deliver Cognitive Remediation Therapy for youth with anorexia nervosa (CRT-AN) via a telehealth platform. Preliminary and practical guidance for best practice for both group and individual delivery is established. RESULTS: With minimal modifications, CRT-AN can be delivered via telehealth for both individual and group delivery. More disengagement in group delivery was noted; however, overall application of the treatment via a remote platform was observed. DISCUSSION: As more treatment moves to a telehealth format, highlighting how an adjunctive treatment like CRT-AN can combined with other treatments in a telehealth format has the potential to increase research in its implementation and furthermore increase its dissemination. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (CRT-AN) requires significant manipulation of materials and supplementary human guidance. Suggestions for how to modify CRT-AN for remote delivery via telehealth are provided. Modifications grew out of immediate changes made during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and can be used to inform changes therapists and programs can make to continue to or begin to use CRT-AN in a remote fashion.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents of adolescents hospitalized with Anorexia nervosa.

The current study was a planned secondary analysis to examine post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in parents of youth hospitalized for medical stabilization due to anorexia nervosa (AN). Questionnaires were administered to 47 parents (34 mothers, 13 fathers; 10 parental dyads) after admission; follow-up occurred at discharge and 4 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-discharge. PTSS were present in the majority of mothers (55.9%) and fathers (61.5%). PTSS were not associated with illness severity, but were associated with parental report of mood symptoms, avoidance, inflexibility, and symptom accommodation. Parental PTSS may negatively impact the adolescent rate of weight gain post-discharge. As hospitalization of a child for medical management of AN can be a traumatizing experience for parents, astute attention should be paid by medical staff to their needs. More work needs to be done to understand the impact of PTSS on parents of adolescents with AN.

Social Processing in Eating Disorders: Neuroimaging Paradigms and Research Domain Organizational Constructs.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Social and environmental factors have been related to both symptom expression of disordered eating in individuals and changes in the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in populations. Neural differences in processing social information may contribute to EDs. This review assesses the evidence for aberrant neural responses during social processing in EDs. RECENT FINDINGS: This review examines how constructs within the social processing domain have been evaluated by neuroimaging paradigms in EDs, including communication, affiliation, and understanding of both oneself and others. Differences related to social processing in EDs include altered processing for self-relevant stimuli, in the context of identity, valence, expectations, and affiliative relationships. Future work is needed to integrate how differences in processing social stimuli relate to alterations in cognitive control and reward as well as specific disordered eating symptoms.

Internalization of Appearance Ideals and Not Religiosity Indirectly Impacts the Relationship Between Acculturation and Disordered Eating Risk in South and Southeast Asian Women Living in the United States.

Objective: Studies that examine disordered eating in samples of Asian individuals living in the United States frequently combine all individuals of Asian descent into a single group, which can obscure important differences between groups and their experiences of acculturation. The goal of the present study was to establish the relation of acculturation, internalization of appearance ideals, and religiosity as predicting body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in women of South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) descent. Method: Women of SSEA descent (N = 112) aged 18-51 years (M = 23.10, SD = 6.4) completed a battery of questionnaires that inquire about these variables. A path analysis was conducted with acculturation serving as the independent (exogenous) variable, religiosity and internalization of the thin ideal as mediators, and body dissatisfaction and disordered eating as dependent (endogenous) variables. Results: Direct paths from acculturation to both body dissatisfaction and disordered eating were not significant. Thin ideal internalization completely accounted for the path from acculturation to both endogenous variables; whereas, religiosity did not significantly account for any indirect effect. Discussion: For SSEA women, internalization of appearance ideals is a potentially greater risk factor for disordered eating than acculturation or religiosity. As this was an atemporal mediation analysis, more work needs to be done exploring predictors of internalization in this population and how that may impact the development of disordered eating.

Autistic characteristics in youth with anorexia nervosa before and after treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive characteristics common to autistic individuals are often seen in adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), raising the question of whether autistic people and people with AN may share an endophenotype. We need to examine autistic characteristics during the early stages of AN to accurately parse true symptom co-occurrence from behavioural alterations due to prolonged illness. METHODS: We conducted a post-hoc analysis examining autistic characteristics in 59 youth with AN. Adolescents and parents participating in a randomised-clinical trial for AN completed questionnaires probing autistic characteristics at baseline and treatment end. We categorised participants as above or below cut-offs of clinical indicators of autism using the Autism Probability Index (API) and the Autism Spectrum Quotient-10. RESULTS: Rates of high autistic characteristics ranged between 0% and 36% depending on the instrument used and how the data was obtained (i.e., by informant report or self-report). Paternal report of autistic characteristics differed across treatment completers versus non completers and maternal report indicated lower weight gain for those with elevated characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Low rates of autism and fluctuations in autistic features during treatment underscore the importance of longitudinal examinations of autistic characteristics in adolescents with AN. Future studies need to replicate findings in a larger adolescent sample. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrails.gov Identifier NCT03928028.

To meat or not to meat: disordered eating and vegetarian status in university students.

PURPOSE: This study sought to examine associations between meat-restricted diets and disordered eating cognitions and behaviors in a large sample of university students and assess the relationships between motivations for choosing a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diet and eating patterns. METHODS: University students (n = 1585; 60%F, 40%M, mean age 20.9) completed an online survey; students were categorized into vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, and non-vegetarians. Vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were sub-categorized into groups: those who cited weight or health among their reasons for adopting the diet and those who reported other reasons (e.g., religion). Outcomes were Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) scores and rates of disordered eating behaviors. RESULTS: Vegetarians comprised 8.6% (32M, 104F) and semi-vegetarians comprised 3.2% (6M, 45F) of the sample; 25% of vegetarians (n = 34) and 65% of semi-vegetarians (n = 33) chose the diet for weight or health-related reasons. Semi-vegetarians scored the highest on measures of eating disorder cognitions and were the most likely to report engaging in disordered eating behaviors, with vegetarians at intermediate risk and non-vegetarians the least likely to report disordered cognitions or behaviors. Semi-vegetarians adopting the diet for reasons of weight or health were at especially high risk compared to other semi-vegetarians, while no associations were found between motivations for adopting a vegetarian diet and disordered eating patterns. CONCLUSION: Semi-vegetarians, especially those adopting the diet for reasons of weight or health, are more likely to exhibit disordered eating cognitions and behaviors compared to vegetarians and non-vegetarians. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cohort study.

Cultural shifts in the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa: The case of Orthorexia Nervosa.

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a term describing a fixation on food purity, involving ritualized eating patterns and a rigid avoidance of "unhealthy foods." Those self-identified as having ON tend to focus on food composition and feel immense guilt after eating food deemed "unhealthy." Although not formally recognized as a psychiatric disorder by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), ON has received increasing attention since its identification in 1997. There is ongoing work to establish diagnostic and empirical tools for measuring ON; embedded in this is the question as to whether or not ON is a new eating disorder. In this paper, we argue ON is not a new psychiatric disorder but rather a new cultural manifestation of anorexia nervosa (AN). We begin by providing an overview of historical representations and classification of eating disorders, with a specific focus on AN. This is followed by discussion of the rise in diet culture and healthism since the 19th century. We conclude by examining the diagnostic validity and utility of ON through a discussion of empirical evidence. Classifying ON under the diagnostic umbrella of AN may improve our understanding of factors underlying restrictive eating behaviors.

How Does Fasting Affect Cognition? An Updated Systematic Review (2013-2020).

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The goal of this review was to provide an update on the literature examining how voluntary, temporary abstention from eating impacts cognitive function. RECENT FINDINGS: We evaluated peer-reviewed articles published between August 2013 and January 2021 that assessed adults, included a measure of cognitive functioning with neutral stimuli, and compared individuals in a fasted state to individuals in a fed state (either within- or between-subject designs). Nineteen articles (21 studies) met inclusion criteria. Sample sizes, fasting methods, and tasks varied across studies. Review of studies indicated that fasting was associated with deficits in cognitive functioning; few studies indicated a benefit in cognitive functioning following a single voluntary fast. The heterogeneity and rarity of available studies limits the conclusions that can be drawn. Several crucial psychosocial and sociodemographic moderators remain unexplored. Recommendations for future work are discussed.

Identifying Opportunities to Discuss Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis During Contraceptive Coaching Discussions With Urban Adolescent Women.

PURPOSE: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces HIV transmission and is approved for adolescents aged 12-17 years. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) have modest PrEP uptake rates, while many receive reproductive health counseling. We sought to identify opportunities for incorporating PrEP education in contraceptive counseling delivered to AGYW. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from the Health Coaching for Contraceptive Continuation pilot study, which supported contraceptive use among AGYW. Participants were 14-22 years old, sexually active with males, and not desiring pregnancy within 12 months. Coaches were sexual health educators with ≥5 years' experience providing contraceptive and PrEP counseling to youth. Participants completed a baseline visit within 30 days of contraceptive initiation and completed up to five monthly coaching sessions. Of 33 enrollees, this analysis includes the 21 who completed ≥4 sessions. Two coders deductively coded session transcripts for five themes: opportunities to discuss PrEP; HIV knowledge, risk perception, and testing attitudes; changes in HIV risk status; condom use knowledge and skills; and sexually transmitted infection knowledge and risk perception. RESULTS: Of the 111 transcripts coded, 24 contained opportunities to discuss PrEP and were inductively analyzed. Thematic analysis demonstrated three types of opportunities for PrEP discussions: failure to introduce information, and provision of incomplete information or misinformation. Analysis also revealed four opportunity contexts: sexually transmitted infection prevention strategies, HIV risk reduction, avoidance of adverse sexual health outcomes, and disclosures of condom nonprotected sexual behaviors. Only one transcript mentioned PrEP. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple opportunities to introduce PrEP counseling exist within contraceptive counseling provided to AGYW.

The shifting perspectives study protocol: Cognitive remediation therapy as an adjunctive treatment to family based treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents with anorexia nervosa have set-shifting inefficiencies that can be exacerbated by starvation and that may interfere with outcomes of treatment interventions. Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT), an adjunctive treatment focused on improving set-shifting, can target inefficiencies and may augment treatment effectiveness. The best way to add CRT to the standard of care (Family Based Treatment, FBT) for adolescents with anorexia remains understudied. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a randomized controlled trial designed to determine if CRT is effective in increasing flexibility in adolescents with anorexia and/or their parents. Participants are adolescents 12-18 years old with anorexia and their parents. 54 family groups will be randomized into one of three groups: FBT only, FBT plus Parent-focused CRT, or FBT plus Adolescent-focused CRT. Psychosocial, neurocognitive, and behavioral measures will be collected throughout the study. DISCUSSION: This is the first study of its kind to apply CRT to parents. All forms of CRT in the context of anorexia have targeted the individual with anorexia's thinking style. We propose that it may be impactful to target the parent of the adolescent with anorexia as parents carry the burden of treatment and re-nourishment of their child during FBT and may have similar thinking styles. CONCLUSION: This study takes an experimental therapeutics approach to further our understanding of the mechanisms of treatment for adolescents with anorexia. It focuses on increasing cognitive flexibility in patients or their parents and determining the appropriate dose of CRT needed to achieve positive change. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrails.gov Identifier NCT03928028.

What's Known and What's Next: Contraceptive Counseling and Support for Adolescents and Young Adult Women.

The low rates of actual contraceptive failure and high rates of contraceptive use among young women highlight that choice of contraceptive method and patterns of contraceptive use greatly influence unintended pregnancy risk. Promoting contraceptive use among adolescent and young adult women requires supportive health systems and health providers who understand this population's evolving developmental needs. It also requires an awareness of effective tools for counseling patients, while being mindful of the power dynamics operational during clinical encounters to avoid inadvertently coercive interpersonal dynamics. Missed opportunities to provide such patient-centered care can lead to unplanned pregnancies and suboptimal health and social consequences for young women. Unfortunately, health providers often lack the tools and resources to appropriately identify and meet individual young women's contraceptive needs. This article summarizes the evidence supporting contraceptive counseling strategies linked with contraceptive initiation among young women, and evidence-based approaches for supporting contraceptive adherence and continuation after method initiation. It also orients readers to the unique neurodevelopmental factors that influence the shared decision-making process during contraception counseling sessions with young women. New and emerging approaches for supporting contraceptive initiation, adherence, and continuation are reviewed.