Food for Thought: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the Eating Disorders

This session will briefly review the evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) should be the first choice of treatment for adults with eating disorders (and a viable alternate choice for some younger cases). It will contrast that evidence with the fact that few clinicians use CBT for eating disorders, and that many who do use it do not use all the necessary elements, and will consider why that is so. Thereafter, the session will outline three key elements that are necessary to make evidence-based CBT work in routine clinical practice – therapeutic stance, the principles of CBT, and the necessary techniques. It will stress the need to centre what we do on recovery goals, and to address the central ‘broken cognition’ in eating disorders. The session will end with a moderated Q&A session, where attendees’ questions will be addressed.