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Neuroscience-informed Treatment to Remotely Target Reward Mechanisms in Post-acute Anorexia Nervosa
Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary
The investigators will recruit individuals with broadly-defined AN (n = 80) who are currently in or have recently participated in higher-level eating disorder treatment (e.g., residential, partial hospitalization/day treatment, intensive outpatient treatment). Interested participants will sign consent, complete eligibility assessments, and will be randomized to receive Positive Affect Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa (PAT-AN) or Psychoeducation and Behavioral Therapy (PBT) through teletherapy shortly following discharge from higher level of care. Participants can participate in most other forms of outpatient treatment while receiving the research intervention. Participants will engage in 24 weeks of PAT-AN or PBT starting in the first 3 months post-discharge. At each session, the investigators will complete brief measures assessing treatment acceptability, affect, and eating disorder symptoms. Participants will also complete an assessment battery of self-report, EMA, and neurocognitive measures evaluating primary outcomes (BMI; eating disorder symptoms), secondary outcomes (depression, anxiety, and suicidality), and presumed treatment mechanisms at baseline, end of treatment (EOT), and 3-month follow-up (FU). All assessments will be remotely delivered via HIPAA-compliant platforms.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
90
Start Date
2023-12-06
Completion Date
2026-10-30
Last Updated
2025-09-05
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Positive Affect Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa (PAT-AN):
PAT-AN is an adaptation of the cognitive-behavioral outpatient individual therapy for anhedonia (17, 68). The overarching aim of PAT-AN is to enhance reward sensitivity (reward anticipation, experiencing, and learning) to non-eating disorder experiences and to decrease or replace reward sensitivity to weight-loss experiences (26). PAT-AN includes 6 sequential modules, each designated to target specific reward sensitivity disturbances (26, 68). Homework and experiential practice during sessions are essential components of PAT-AN, and participants are provided a workbook to assist with this practice. During each session, collaborative homework review is followed by skill development and homework assignments.
Psychoeducational and Behavioral Therapy (PBT)
The comparison treatment is modeled off of educational and behavioral interventions used in prior clinical trials for AN and common elements of standard behavioral eating disorder treatments. The treatment is structured to parallel the modular format of PAT-AN.
Locations (1)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia, United States