Evaluation of the Communities of Healing Mentorship/Support Group Program: Assessment of Preliminary Efficacy

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Status: Completed

Conditions: Binge-Eating Disorder; Eating Disorder; Bulimia Nervosa; Anorexia Nervosa

Treatments: Behavioral: Social support mentorship; Behavioral: Peer mentorship; Behavioral: Recovery Record use with mentor

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03317379

7533 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of the study is to evaluate two 6-month adjunct interventions (peer mentorship and social support mentorship) for individuals with eating disorders. Individuals will be randomized to peer-mentorship, social support mentorship, or a wait-list and eating disorder symptoms will be evaluated at baseline and post-treatment.

Full description

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses associated with significant morbidity and high relapse rates. Patients are at especially high risk of relapse after leaving structured treatment (e.g., hospitalization). Adjunct interventions targeting patients' motivation and participation in treatment at these times may help patients recover from eating disorders. Project HEAL is a non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce suffering caused by eating disorders, and they have recently developed two adjunct, mentorship-based interventions for patients in recovery. In the peer mentorship condition, individuals meet weekly with a peer mentor who has previously recovered from an eating disorder in order to discuss symptoms and coping strategies. In the social support mentorship condition, individuals meet weekly with a social support mentor who has not personally struggled with an eating disorder in order to engage in activities unrelated to the eating disorder. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of this intervention. The design of the study is a three-arm randomized controlled trial comparing peer mentorship, social-support mentorship, and wait-list control conditions. Participants in the study will be randomized to one of the three conditions for six months. Wait-list participants will subsequently receive either type of mentorship. Participants will complete assessments of their eating disorder symptoms at baseline, monthly throughout the course of the study, and one year after beginning the study. Outcomes will be compared between groups.

Enrollment: 60 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 14 to 45 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Current or past 6 months AN, BN, or BED
• Recent (within 6 months) discharge from structured treatment
• Involved in outpatient treatment at an appropriate level of care
• Medical stability
• Access to smart phone or computer to complete study assessments

Exclusion criteria

• Evidence of needing specialized treatment for another medical or mental health condition

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

Peer mentorship

Experimental group

Description:

Participants meet weekly with an adult peer mentor who has recovered from an eating disorder. The focus of meetings is on eating disorder symptoms and how to overcome them. The goal of this program is to reduce eating disorder symptoms directly by receiving support and guidance from someone who has been through it.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Recovery Record use with mentor

Behavioral: Peer mentorship

Social support mentorship

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants meet weekly with an adult mentor who has not personally struggled with an eating disorder but who is dedicated to offering support. During weekly meetings, participants and mentors (and possibly 1-2 other mentees) engage in activities unrelated to the eating disorder. The goal of this program is to reduce eating disorder symptoms indirectly by exploring aspects of self outside the eating disorder.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Social support mentorship

Wait list

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants are on a wait list and then get matched with either type of mentor (of their choice) 6 months later