Feasibility and Acceptability of a Single Session of Imagery Rescripting in a Community Sample of Adults

University of Oregon

Status and phase: Completed; Early Phase 1

Conditions: Depressive Symptoms; Acceptability; Disordered Eating Behaviors; Feasibility Studies

Treatments: Behavioral: imagery rescripting; Behavioral: nutrition education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06610318

STUDY00000529

Details and patient eligibility

About

Negative experiences related to eating and appearance (NEREAs), such as critical commentary from parents about food, are common. They are also associated with depression and disordered eating, predictors of early mortality. Imagery rescripting (IR) is a therapeutic process during which individuals are guided through recalling distressing memories, like NEREAs, and generating ideas for bringing support into these memories. Single sessions of IR demonstrate promise in shifting the primary negative consequences of NEREAs in clinical samples of women. The current study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a remote-delivered, single session of IR in a community sample of men and women with NEREAs.

Enrollment: 27 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. ≥18 years old
2. endorse a history of at least one negative experience related to eating and/or appearance

Exclusion criteria

1. endorsed a current major medical condition;
2. met criteria for a full threshold psychiatric disorder (of moderate intensity when severity ratings are necessary, such as for substance use disorders and binge eating disorder);
3. were at high risk for suicide;
4. endorsed current or recent pregnancy or anticipated becoming pregnant within the next year;
5. were taking medication known to affect eating, weight and/or chronic disease risk;
6. were participating in eating, weight, or diabetes programming;
7. experienced weight loss > 10% in the past six months; and/or
8. could not complete study procedures in English.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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27 participants in 2 patient groups

Imagery rescripting

Experimental group

Description:

This condition has three stages. In the first stage, participants were asked to select their most distressing memory related to their appearance (not physical or sexual trauma). They were asked to visualize the selected memory, in detail, as if it were happening to them again. Then, interventionists used a downward arrow technique to identify two-to-three maladaptive core schema. In the second stage, participants were asked to identify a real or imagined trusted adult. Then, they were asked to imagine what their younger self might need to cope with or feel calmer in the situation of their selected memory. In the third stage, the participant was instructed to imagine asking the trusted adult for what they need and to imagine the trusted adult providing their selected interventions and describe how they feel afterwards. These procedures were then repeated with participants' most distressing memory related to eating. This session was remote delivered via Zoom.

Treatment:

Behavioral: imagery rescripting

Nutrition education control

Active Comparator group

Description:

The active control condition consisted of a time- and attention-matched general nutrition education session. The curriculum for this intervention included information from the United States Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines (e.g., food labels, describing the benefits of macronutrients). This session was remote delivered using Zoom.

Treatment:

Behavioral: nutrition education