Online compassion focused therapy for overeating (CFT-OE): Feasibility and acceptability pilot study

Abstract

Objective: This pilot study aims to investigate the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating (CFT-OE). Method: Eighteen Portuguese women seeking treatment for overeating enrolled in this study, and 15 participants completed the CFT-OE. This was a single-arm study. Participants were assessed at pre- and post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. All participants completed measures assessing binge eating, cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, general eating psychopathology, general and body shame, self-criticism, self-compassion and fears of self-compassion. Results: The treatment attrition rate was 16.7%, which is relatively low compared to other similar online interventions. Participants gave positive feedback on the program and indicated they would recommend it to people with similar difficulties. CFT-OE improved self-compassion and reduced eating psychopathology symptoms, general and body shame, self-criticism and fears of self-compassion. Clinical significance analysis showed that the majority of participants were classified as in recovery in all measures at post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Discussion: Preliminary results suggest that the online CFT-OE program is an acceptable and feasible intervention. Results also suggest that CFT-OE is beneficial for the treatment of women with difficulties with overeating. A future randomized controlled trial is necessary to establish the effectiveness of the CFT-OE.