Update on Treatments for Adolescent Bulimia Nervosa

Sasha Gorrell; Daniel Le Grange

doi:10.1016/j.chc.2019.05.002

Update on Treatments for Adolescent Bulimia Nervosa

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2019 Oct;28(4):537-547. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2019.05.002. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

Authors

Sasha Gorrell¹, Daniel Le Grange²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: Daniel.LeGrange@ucsf.edu.

Abstract

There are few systematic studies of treatment of bulimia nervosa (BN) in adolescents. Although family-based treatment has demonstrated preliminary evidence to support involvement of caregivers in treatment, there is significant opportunity for improvement in mitigating binge-eating and purging symptoms among adolescents afflicted with BN. When caregivers are unable to participate in treatment, there is evidence that BN-specific cognitive behavioral therapy approaches are helpful for some adolescents. Further research is needed to determine for whom, and under what conditions certain types of family involvement might be most effective in adolescent treatment of BN.

Keywords: Bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Family-based treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Psychiatry*
Binge-Eating Disorder / therapy
Bulimia Nervosa / psychology
Bulimia Nervosa / therapy*
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Family Therapy / trends*
Humans

Grants and funding

T32 MH018261/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States