Interpersonal Psychotherapy and the Treatment of Eating Disorders

Anna M Karam; Ellen E Fitzsimmons-Craft; Marian Tanofsky-Kraff; Denise E Wilfley

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.003

Interpersonal Psychotherapy and the Treatment of Eating Disorders

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2019 Jun;42(2):205-218. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.003.

Authors

Anna M Karam¹, Ellen E Fitzsimmons-Craft², Marian Tanofsky-Kraff³, Denise E Wilfley⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Mailstop 8134-29-2100, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Mailstop 8134-29-2100, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
³ Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-4712, USA.
⁴ Scott Rudolph University, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Mailstop 8134-29-2100, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: wilfleyd@wustl.edu.

PMID: 31046923
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.003

Abstract

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for the treatment of eating disorders is a brief treatment that addresses the social and interpersonal context in which the disorder begins and is maintained. IPT is classified as a strongly supported evidence-based treatment of bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, and more research is needed to understand the effectiveness of IPT for anorexia nervosa and IPT for preventing excess weight gain. This article describes the core components and elements of IPT, the empirical evidence that supports its effectiveness, efforts to increase the dissemination and implementation of IPT, and future directions.

Keywords: Binge-eating disorder; Bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT); Obesity; Psychotherapy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Binge-Eating Disorder / therapy*
Bulimia / therapy*
Humans
Interpersonal Psychotherapy*