Group-Analytic and Psychoeducational Therapies for Binge-Eating Disorder: An Exploratory Study of Efficacy and Persistence of Effects

Abstract

Research has evaluated cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy for the treatment of binge-eating disorder (BED); other therapies, however, have received less attention. The aim of our research was to analyze the efficacy of two group therapies for BED patients: analytic psychotherapy and psychoeducation. The psychotherapeutic intervention consisted of group-analytic psychotherapy of 14 sessions over a 28-week period; the group psychoeducational intervention involved 10 sessions over a 10-week period. The Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the 16-Personality Factors questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 were used for psychometric assessment. Two follow-up assessments were performed after 6 and 12 months, respectively. At the end of treatment, most patients were without eating disorders and had a lower rate of binge episodes. The psychoeducational group patients improved markedly in alexithymic traits related to the ability to describe feelings. At follow-up, most patients were still without eating disorders and had few binge episodes. Although psychoeducational group patients confirmed the amelioration on alexithymic traits, analytic psychotherapy group patients showed a trend toward an improvement in personality traits related to the ability to be at ease when communicating with others.