Compassion-focused acceptance and commitment therapy for women with restrictive eating and problematic body-checking: A multiple baseline across participants study

Abstract

Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of outpatient compassion-focused acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for women with restrictive eating and problematic body-checking. Three women with these concerns participated in ten sessions of individual compassion-focused ACT. Visual inspection suggested systematic changes in self-monitored eating disorder (ED) behaviors, including body-checking, and clinically relevant behaviors in a valued life domain in expected directions across all participants. These changes corresponded with improvements in self-compassion and body image flexibility, hypothesized processes of change in ACT, and with reductions in general ED pathology and psychological distress. Implications and future directions are discussed.