Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient

The present paper assessed therapeutic alliance over the course of Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) in a community-based sample of 112 patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa (BN) or atypical BN. Temporal assessment of alliance was conducted at three time points (the start, middle...

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Main Authors: Raykos, B., McEvoy, Peter, Erceg-Hurn, David, Byrne, S., Fursland, A., Nathan, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44035
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author Raykos, B.
McEvoy, Peter
Erceg-Hurn, David
Byrne, S.
Fursland, A.
Nathan, P.
author_facet Raykos, B.
McEvoy, Peter
Erceg-Hurn, David
Byrne, S.
Fursland, A.
Nathan, P.
author_sort Raykos, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The present paper assessed therapeutic alliance over the course of Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) in a community-based sample of 112 patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa (BN) or atypical BN. Temporal assessment of alliance was conducted at three time points (the start, middle and end of treatment) and the relationship between alliance and treatment retention and outcome was explored. Results indicated that the alliance between patient and therapist was strong at all stages of CBT-E, and even improved in the early stages of treatment when behaviour change was initiated (weekly in-session weighing, establishing regular eating, and ceasing binge-eating and compensatory behaviours).The present study found no evidence that alliance was related to treatment retention or outcomes, or that symptom severity or problematic interpersonal styles interacted with alliance to influence outcomes. Alliance was also unrelated to baseline emotional or interpersonal difficulties. The study provides no evidence that alliance has clinical utility for the prediction of treatment retention or outcome in CBT-Efor BN, even for individuals with severe symptoms or problematic interpersonal styles. Early symptom change was the best predictor of outcome in CBT-E. Further research is needed to determine whether these results are generalizable to patients with anorexia nervosa.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-440352019-02-19T04:27:00Z Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient Raykos, B. McEvoy, Peter Erceg-Hurn, David Byrne, S. Fursland, A. Nathan, P. CBT-E Bulimia nervosa Therapeutic alliance The present paper assessed therapeutic alliance over the course of Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) in a community-based sample of 112 patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa (BN) or atypical BN. Temporal assessment of alliance was conducted at three time points (the start, middle and end of treatment) and the relationship between alliance and treatment retention and outcome was explored. Results indicated that the alliance between patient and therapist was strong at all stages of CBT-E, and even improved in the early stages of treatment when behaviour change was initiated (weekly in-session weighing, establishing regular eating, and ceasing binge-eating and compensatory behaviours).The present study found no evidence that alliance was related to treatment retention or outcomes, or that symptom severity or problematic interpersonal styles interacted with alliance to influence outcomes. Alliance was also unrelated to baseline emotional or interpersonal difficulties. The study provides no evidence that alliance has clinical utility for the prediction of treatment retention or outcome in CBT-Efor BN, even for individuals with severe symptoms or problematic interpersonal styles. Early symptom change was the best predictor of outcome in CBT-E. Further research is needed to determine whether these results are generalizable to patients with anorexia nervosa. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44035 10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.004 Elsevier Ltd fulltext
spellingShingle CBT-E
Bulimia nervosa
Therapeutic alliance
Raykos, B.
McEvoy, Peter
Erceg-Hurn, David
Byrne, S.
Fursland, A.
Nathan, P.
Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title_full Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title_fullStr Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title_full_unstemmed Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title_short Therapeutic alliance in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for bulimia nervosa: Probably necessary but definitely insufficient
title_sort therapeutic alliance in enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy for bulimia nervosa: probably necessary but definitely insufficient
topic CBT-E
Bulimia nervosa
Therapeutic alliance
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44035