Trauma-focused exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with eating disorders

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Pending

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 20

Inclusion Criteria

Study 1:
-Female outpatients with anorexia nervosa, or otherwise specified feeding or eating disorder with anorexia nervosa symptoms (atypical AN) and posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis according to DSM-5
-Age 18-65
-Body Mass Index =15
-Informed consent
-Enrollment in outpatient eating disorder treatment

Study 2:
-Female outpatients with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, otherwise specified feeding or eating disorder with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis according to DSM-5
-Age 18-65
-Body Mass Index =15
-Informed consent
-Enrollment in outpatient ED treatment

Exclusion Criteria

Study 1:
-Current PTSD treatment
-Other concurrent psychological treatment during the duration of the study than the studied intervention of exposure therapy and TAU for ED.
-DSM-5 diagnosis of BN, BED, OSFED with BN or BED symptoms, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, night eating syndrome or purging disorder
-Psychotic disorder
-Medical instability (hospital admission required) or pregnancy
-Changes in psychotropic medication in the two months prior to inclusion
-High risk of suicidality in the last two months (High suicidality score on MINI-plus and a suicide attempt in the past 6 months)
-Severe non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the last two months (hospital referral
required)
-Insufficient proficiency in the Dutch language
-Alcohol or drug dependency in last two months
-Cognitive impairment (estimated IQ < 70)

Study 2:
-DSM-5 diagnosis of AN, OSFED with AN symptoms, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, night eating syndrome or purging disorder
-Current PTSD treatment
-Other concurrent psychological treatment during the duration of the study than the studied intervention of exposure therapy and TAU for ED.
-Psychotic disorder
-Medical instability (hospital admission required) or pregnancy
-Changes in psychotropic medication in the two months prior to inclusion
-High risk of suicidality in the last two months (High suicidality score on MINI-plus and a suicide attempt in the past 6 months)
-Severe non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the last two months (hospital referral
-required)
-Insufficient proficiency in the Dutch language
-Alcohol or drug dependency in last two months
-Cognitive impairment (estimated IQ <70)

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The primary study parameter is decrease of weekly measured PTSD symptom severity after the onset of exposure therapy compared to baseline.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The secondary parameters are to investigate the feasibility of exposure therapy for PTSD in ED population, to measure the effect of exposure therapy on secondary clinical outcomes and to measure whether the intervention effects are maintained over time.