New Treatment For Bulimia To Be Tested

Funded by a research grant, a University at Albany professor is testing a new treatment on those suffering with bulimia. Using an alternative treatment, Professor Drew Anderson's study will focus on the impact of 'functional contextual treatment'.

Albany, NY - Bulimia Nervosa is a debilitating eating disorder that generally affects teens and young woman. Traditional treatment, called cognitive-behavioral therapy, identifies and monitors thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors related to bulimia. Because there are some individuals who do not respond to this treatment, it is imperative to try and find another way to treat it. Psychology Professor Drew Anderson, from the University at Albany, will test a new alternative treatment on selected individuals who are bulimic. With the aide of a $250,000 National Institute of Mental Health grant, he will study the impact of what's called 'functional contextual treatment'. Functional contextual treatment is an attempt to better understand why some individuals engage in bulimic behaviors and then correcting those behaviors with healthier ones. The study will begin with 10 people who have the disorder and treat them individually using a tentative outline for functional contextual treatment. From the results of this testing, Anderson will make a standardized manual, that is to include specific session-by-session treatment instructions for therapists. Anderson will then retest the manual on 40 more individuals that are bulimic. Follow-ups on the test group are to take place in 3-months. The end result of the second part of the study will determine whether a large scale, controlled trial of the new treatment is feasible.

"I hope that the new treatment will result in significant reductions in bulimic symptomatology," said Anderson, "and suspect that it will yield high completion rates and low levels of attrition."