Comparing the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral guided self-help and health at every size guided self-help for disordered eating.

This project is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of two psychological interventions for disordered eating. The proposed study targets both males and females aged between 18 and 65 years. The interventions include: Cognitive-behavioural guided self-help (CBT G-SH) is one intervention based on the self-help manual, Overcoming Binge Eating (Fairburn, 2013), which has received considerable empirical support for reducing eating disorder behaviours and cognitions. It is a program designed to target the cognitive, behavioural and emotional processes that maintain the core symptoms of eating disorders. There are 8 serial steps in this program that are designed to modify dysfunctional eating disorder cognitions (e.g. extreme concerns about weight and shape) and behaviours (e.g. restrictive dieting and binge eating). For this program, there will be 8 sessions that run over 10 weeks. The first 2 weeks of the program will enable participants to read the first half of the book – a psychoeducation section that teaches people about the nature of dieting and binge eating. The remaining 8 weeks will be devoted to the treatment program. Participants will meet face to face weekly with a provisional clinical psychologist who will guide them through the program. Sessions will take between 35-50 minutes, and participants will get a chance to review their progress, discuss any obstacles to change, and discuss any challenges they are having with the program. To monitor adherence to the program, a visual analogue scale will be used to ask participants to indicate their level adherence over the preceding week. Lack of adherence to the program will allow the facilitator to discuss any potential barriers to adherence while also allowing for discussion of strategies that might facilitate adherence in successive sessions.