Self-Help Program for Binge Eaters?

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon have found that combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a guided Self-Help intervention was more effective at curbing binge-eating than CBT alone.

The combined treatments allowed more patients to remain free of binge-eating episodes at one year than usual care alone, according to Lynn DeBar, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., and colleagues.

Participants in the intervention were instructed to read and follow instructions in Overcoming Binge Eating by Christopher Fairburn, DM, of the University of Oxford, with assistance from the therapist. The book describes a self-help program using self-monitoring, self-control strategies, and problem solving.

The full article has more details of the study, and elaborates how the self-help program is a cost-effective way of fighting the eating disorder. Do you think that a self-help program will have long-lasting benefits that can be sustained by patients? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.