Collaborative dietetic and psychological care in Interprofessional Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for adults with Anorexia Nervosa: a novel treatment approach

• Published in: Journal of eating disorders Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 31
• Main Authors: Bray, Megan, Heruc, Gabriella, Byrne, Susan, Wright, Olivia R L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 27.02.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Anorexia; Anorexia nervosa; Behavior modification; Behavioral health care; Biochemistry; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Clinical outcomes; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive therapy; Collaboration; Comment; Counseling; Dietitians; Eating disorders; Evidence-based medicine; Health care reform; Interdisciplinary health team; Interprofessional collaboration; Malnutrition; Medical personnel; Mental disorders; Mental health; Nutrition therapy; Patient satisfaction; Physiology; Professionals; Interdisciplinary health team; Dietitians; Nutritional management; Interprofessional collaboration; Eating disorders; Multidisciplinary care; Patient care team; Psychologist; Anorexia nervosa; Malnutrition; Mental health professional
• ISSN: 2050-2974; 2050-2974
• DOI: 10.1186/s40337-023-00743-w

Clinical practice guidelines for anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical anorexia nervosa recommend treatment from a team including a mental health professional and a dietitian. To date, however, AN treatment models such as Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-E) seldom include dietitians and have low to moderate treatment efficacy. Given interprofessional approaches to healthcare have been shown to improve treatment outcomes and enhance patient and clinician satisfaction, formalising collaborative dietetic and psychological treatment may be a feasible strategy to improve treatment outcomes and the patient and clinician experience of treatment. Moreover, malnutrition is a serious consequence of AN, and dietitians are considered experts in its diagnosis and treatment. This paper proposes a novel treatment approach, Interprofessional Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-IE), an adaptation of CBT-E where dietitians deliver content related to malnutrition and dietary restraint and mental health professionals deliver content related to cognitive and behavioural change. The rationale for developing CBT-IE, treatment structure, and future research directions is discussed.