Cited by 83Eating Disorders and BehaviorsPsychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsPersonality Disorders and Psychopathology

Clinician adherence to guidelines in the delivery of family-based therapy for eating disorders

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Kosmerly, Stacey, Waller, Glenn, Robinson, Adele Lafrance·2015·International Journal of Eating Disorders

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Clinicians have been shown to drift away from protocol in their delivery of evidence-based treatments. This study explores this phenomenon in the delivery of family-based therapy (FBT) for eating disorders, and the clinician characteristics that might explain such therapist drift. METHOD: The participants were 117 clinicians who reported using FBT for eating disorders. They completed an online survey, which included questions relating to clinician characteristics, caseload, and reported use of FBT manuals and core therapeutic tasks, as well as a measure of anxiety. RESULTS: The use of core FBT tasks was higher than for other therapies, but there were still noteworthy gaps between recommended and reported practice. Approximately a third of clinicians reported delivering "FBT" that deviated very substantially from evidence-based protocols, often appearing to be on an individual therapy basis. Using an FBT manual to guide treatment delivery was associated with greater adherence to recommended techniques. Clinician caseload and anxiety were associated with differences in the use of specific FBT tasks. DISCUSSION: Consistent with previous research regarding clinicians' use of other therapies, the delivery of FBT for the eating disorders is not homogeneous. CONCLUSION: Further investigation of this phenomenon is needed to determine the impact of deviating from treatment protocols on the effectiveness of FBT for the eating disorders.

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  • Few therapists adhere to evidence-based treatment protocols for eating disorders.

    “which may be due to few therapists adhering to evidence-based treatment protocols (Kosmerly et al., 2015; von Ranson et al., 2013; Waller, 2016).”

    From Feasibility of guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for patients with anorexia nervosa (2022) · cites this paper as Kosmerly et al., 2015

    The Discussion reports that about two-thirds of the surveyed FBT clinicians used manual-recommended techniques, while one-third deviated substantially. That is contrary to the claim that few therapists adhere, though the study did find noteworthy gaps in adherence. Its findings concern clinicians who reported using family-based therapy, not all eating-disorder therapists. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. American Psychiatric Association. Treatment of patients with eating disor- ders (3rd ed). Am J Psychiatry 2006;163:4-54.
  2. Strober M. Family-based therapy for eating disorders is overvalued: An opin- ion thoughtfully considered. Adv Eat Disord: Theory Res Pract, in press.

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Authors
Kosmerly, S., Waller, G., & Robinson, A. L.
Affiliations
  • Laurentian University (CA)
  • University of Sheffield (GB)
  • Department of Psychology Laurentian University Canada
Venue
International Journal of Eating Disorders
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2014-03-20
Volume
48
Issue
2
Pages
223-229
ISSN
  • 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-108X
OpenAlex
W2142360113
Cited by
83
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 3
FWCI
9.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
Keywords
family-based treatment, eating disorders, medication adherence, evidence-based practice, clinician characteristics, clinician anxiety, caseloads, individual psychotherapy
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Delivery of Health Care, Family Therapy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Practice Guidelines as Topic, Guideline Adherence

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