244 pg, hard, ’09

This groundbreaking book gives clinicians a new set of tools for helping people overcome binge-eating disorder and bulimia. It presents an adaptation of dialetical behavior therapy (DBT) developed expressly for this population. What makes this research-based approach unique is its focus on disordered eating as a problem of emotional dysregulation. Grounded in research and real-world clinical experience, the book shows how to put an end to binge eating and purging by teaching clients more adaptive ways to manage painful emotions.

The authors begin by explaining how and why they adapted standard DBT. They review the evidence base for their approach and compare it to other available treatments for binge eating and bulimia. Following an overview of DBT skills training principles and goals, the volume provides step-by-step guidelines for implementation. Clinicians learn clear-cut strategies for helping clients to:

• Build motivation and commitment to treatment
• Develop and practice mindfulness skills as a foundation for awareness, acceptance, and change
• Respond more effectively to intense or negative feelings
• Increase positive emotions and experiences
• Skillfully manage food-related cravings, preoccupations, and urges
• Abstain from problem behaviors and deal with setbacks

The interventions are detailed in highly practical chapters that include discussion points, experiential exercises, homework suggestions, and troubleshooting tops, as well as 32 reproducible handouts and forms. Two extended case examples illustrate the entire process of therapy in individual and group formats.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1 – Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa:
Why Dialectical Behavior Therapy?
Chapter 2 – Orientation for Therapists
Chapter 3 – The Pretreatment Stage:
The Pretreatment Interview and Introductory Sessions
Chapter 4 – Mindfulness Core Skills
Chapter 5 – Emotion Regulation Skills
Chapter 6 – Distress Tolerance Skils
Chapter 7 – Final Sessions: Review and Relapse Prevention
Chapter 8 – Illustrative Case Examples
Chapter 9 – Future Directions
Appendix – Information for Researchers

REVIEWS:
“Safer et al. have done pioneering work adapting dialectical behavior therapy to the treatment of eating disorders. This book provides a comprehensive yet practical and user-friendly guide for clinicians working with these patients. The authors are to be congratulated for providing a mechanism for the dissemination of this empirically validated treatment. Very highly recommended”
— James E. Mitchell, MD, Christoferson Professor and Chair, Department of Clinical Neuroscience; Chester Fritz Distinguished University Professor, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences

“DBT has shown promise for treating disordered eating, but a detailed manual that describes how to adapt DBT protocols for this population has been sorely needed by clinicians and treatment researchers. Safer, Telch, and Chen, three distinguished experts, have succeeded in meeting this important need.”
— Daniel le Grange, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Director, Eating Disorders Program, University of Chicago

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Debra L. Safer, MD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center. Her postdoctoral fellowship was also at Stanford where she worked closely with W. Stewart Agras, MD, and his eating disorders research team.

Christy F. Telch, PhD is in private practice in Palo Alto, California. In 1997, Dr. Telch received a grant from NIMH to adapt DBT for the treatment of BED. Her subsequent research and treatment manual are the basis for this book.

Eunice Y. Chen, PHD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Chicago where she runs a DBT program for adults with eating disorders. She has complete postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and the University of Washington, with Marsha M. Linehan, PhD.